


Play Pretend

by chasing_ghosts (Betweenthelines5)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Nicole Is A Football Player, Slow Burn Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, They're Both So Blind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2020-07-26 03:16:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20037019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Betweenthelines5/pseuds/chasing_ghosts
Summary: The Fake-Dating AU that absolutely no one asked for but you're gonna get regardless.There's fluff, there's angst.There's two idiots in love who refuse to acknowledge they have feelings.Nicole's a jock, enough said.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, it's another fake-dating au and I'm a sucker for those, yolo! Hope you enjoy.

“Christmas break is coming up, Waverly.” Ward Earp sighed heavily through the speaker. “What are we supposed to tell our friends when you come home with no one? You should’ve never broken up with James Hardy.”

Waverly dropped her phone onto her bed and ran a hand through her hair; she was sick and tired of having this conversation every single week. “Champ slept with Stephanie Jones. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Oh, honey, that’s a minor issue.” Ward said, “The Hardy’s are a great family, you know that. You would never have to worry a day in your life.”

“I’m not a trophy wife, daddy!” Waverly yelled, exasperated. “I don’t want to stay at home while my husband works and raise kids. I want to be in love, to have someone who sees me as their equal, not an object.”

“Why can’t you be like Willa?” Ward asked, clearly disappointed. “Robert is a wonderful husband and takes care of her.”

“I don’t-” Waverly paused as the door to her dorm opened and smiled softly when she saw that it was her roommate, Nicole. She gave a small wave in greeting before returning her attention to her phone. “I have to go.”

“Waverly, I’m not done speaking with you!” Ward said. “Please, just consider what I’ve said, you won’t regret it.”

“Goodnight, daddy.” Waverly hung the phone, exhausted from the arguing. She looked to Nicole, “Sorry. How was your run?”

Nicole shrugged, wiping her sweaty hands on her shorts, “The usual. Everything okay at home?”

“I’m just a disappointment to my family because I want to be in a loving relationship, not a business deal.” Waverly fell onto her bed, “Daddy would rather me be in a shitty relationship then have someone who cares about me. It’s only about money and I hate it.”

Nicole grabbed clothes from her dresser to change into after her shower, “You know what would really piss him off? Showing up with someone who is the complete opposite of what he wants; that’d make for a hell of a break.”

“I think I’d be murdered.” Waverly said, “Although, I wouldn’t mind seeing his head explode.”

Nicole laughed, “Wanna pick a movie while I shower?”

“Don’t you have practice in six hours?” Waverly asked, glancing at the clock. “You’re gonna be so exhausted.”

Nicole waved her off, “I’ll be okay.”

Waverly nodded, “If you say so. Go, take a shower, you stink.”

Nicole tossed her towel at her, a smile playing at her lips, “You know what, you’re definitely not a trophy wife. You don’t know when to shut up.”

Waverly gasped, offended and threw the towel back at the redhead, “Asshole.”

Nicole smirked, “Yeah, but I’m cute though.”

Waverly looked down at her hands, trying her best to hide her blush. God was Nicole cocky, but she was right, she was cute. “Oh my God.”

“Pick a movie.” Nicole said, and slipped into their bathroom.

Waverly watched the football player go, a smile on her face the entire time. Not only was Nicole extremely attractive, with tattoos littering her body and a six pack that Michelangelo sculpted himself, but she was kind and funny, always making Waverly feel better about herself. Deep down, she knew it was stupid to have a crush on her roommate, but she couldn’t help it. How could anyone look at Nicole Haught and not feel things for her? She was perfect. If only her father would accept someone like Nicole into their family, then she wouldn’t have to deal with his disappointment all the time.

Wait.

That’s it.

Waverly climbed out of bed and without a second thought, stormed into the bathroom. “You should be my girlfriend.”

Nicole, who was in the middle of washing the conditioner out of her hair, stopped dead and peaked her head out of the shower, “Excuse me?”

“Uh.” Waverly paused, “I said, uh, you should be my girlfriend. Not like, my real girlfriend, that would be silly, of course, but like. You’re the perfect person to drive my family crazy! Once he knows about you, maybe he’ll back off.”

“I um.” Nicole disappeared for a moment only to reappear seconds later with the shower off. She wrapped a towel around her body and stepped onto the bath rug. “You know I was joking earlier, right?”

“Of course, but you’re actually right!” Waverly said, ignoring every single thought in her head that was telling her this was a bad idea and that she was going to get herself hurt in the end. “He hates that I like girls too.”

“So, you’re wanting to fake date me so he’ll stop bothering you about being single and hopefully leave you alone?”

Waverly nodded, “Yep.”

Nicole shrugged, “Alright.”

“Really?”

“I love pissing off homophobic parents.” Nicole said, “I’m in.”

Waverly tackled Nicole in a hug, only to jump back in a panic when she realized Nicole was still in a towel. “I uh, I’m gonna go pick out that movie now. So, you can uh, get dressed, or whatever.”

Nicole shook her head with a small laugh, Waverly was always so cute when she stumbled over her words. “Give me five.”

Waverly shot fingers guns in her direction, immediately regretting it as she felt her embarrassment creep up her cheeks. God Waverly, stop acting like an idiot, she’s your friend and she’s doing this as a favor to you, “Yep, okay, yep!” She said, before disappearing back into their bedroom.

///

“Oh my God, you’re crying.” Waverly said, slightly taken aback as she saw the tears run down Nicole’s face. “Nicole, really?”

“Shut up.” Nicole said, wiping roughly at her eyes. “I just didn’t think they’d ever part, ya know? I mean, Toothless has helped him through so much.”

Waverly patted Nicole’s thigh, trying to comfort her, “We’ve seen this movie three times and you’re still upset over it?”

“You cry every time Tony Stark dies, so shut up.” Nicole said, blowing her nose into a tissue.

“So do you!” Waverly said. “Who would’ve thought that The Ghost River Revenants star football player was the biggest baby.”

“Hey now, take that back.” Nicole sniffed. “I’m still a badass.”

“A sensitive one.” Waverly giggled, as she handed Nicole a tissue. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul and ruin your street cred.”

“No one would ever believe you.”

“Dolls, Perry, Kate, Mattie. I think they’d love to know that their big, bad leader cries over kid’s movies.” Waverly said.

“We aren’t in a gang, Waverly, I’m not a leader.” Nicole said, throwing her tissue into the trash can. “Play the damn movie.”

Waverly pressed play and turned her attention back to the television, “Whatever you say, Haught.”

Nicole was quiet for a long while, “So, who asked who out?”

“What?”

“Did I ask you out or vice versa?” Nicole asked. “I mean, we have to get our story straight for your father, right?”

“Oh! Oh that, yeah!” Waverly paused the movie once more. “You?”

“That’s cliché.” Nicole said. “The jock asking out the nerd?”

“I am not a nerd!” Waverly said, slapping Nicole’s shoulder.

Nicole held her hands up, “I’m only teasing, Wave.”

“I guess I didn’t think about it.” Waverly said. “My dad’s already gonna be so upset I’ve kept something so big from him.”

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I’m just here for support.”

“I know.” Waverly said. “But I need to do this. I need to show him that I can be perfectly successful in life even if it’s with someone he doesn’t approve of.”

“He’s got a specific type for you, doesn’t he?”

Waverly nodded, “Yep. Rich, successful, and a man.”

“Ew, gross.” Nicole scoffed. “I hate parents like that, no offense.”

“My mom ran away with a biker when I was four.” Waverly said, dropping her head onto Nicole’s shoulder, as she often did on their movie nights. “He was everything my daddy wasn’t. Ever since then, my dad’s been really hard on us, wanting us to live a perfect life, whether we want it or not. He’s not a bad man, he’s just… a little specific.”

“He’s kinda homophobic.”

“I ignore it.” Waverly said. “He still loves me and that’s more than I can say for most kids. I just… I wish he would understand that there’s more to life than being rich and successful. I want to fall in love with someone who loves me all the same. Who wants to go on adventures, who wants to go on late night grocery trips with me because I want ice cream. I don’t want it to be a business deal, I want it to be real, honest.”

“No, I get it.” Nicole said. “I hope this causes your dad to ease up a little.”

“I hope so, too.” Waverly said. “Maybe if he thinks I’m in a relationship with someone, he’ll let it go for now. He’s starting to stress me out.”

“I bet.” Nicole said, shoveling a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “Then it’s settled, I’m your fake girlfriend for the next month.”

Waverly gave Nicole a kiss on the cheek, “You’re the best.”

“That’s what all the ladies tell me.”

“Keep on and I’ll put in The Notebook.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, Thirteen.”

///

“You’re an idiot.” Dolls said.

“The biggest idiot.” Mattie agreed.

“You’re in love with her.” Kate said. “How are you gonna fake date her for a month? Have you ever seen a romcom, like, at all, ever?”

“I’m just helping her out.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “Don’t read so much into it.”

“The only person who doesn’t know they’re in love with Waverly Earp, is you.” Perry said, matter of fact. “It’s obvious, dude.”

“Yeah, she’s cute but that’s it.”

“Liar.” Mattie said. “You may be a damn good football player but you have the world’s worst poker face.”

“I hate all of you.”

“You should just tell her how you feel.” Dolls said, “Couldn’t hurt.”

“We have to share a small space for six more months.” Nicole paused, glaring at her best friend. “_If _I had any feelings towards her, I wouldn’t tell her. I wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable around me.”

Kate shook her head, “Where’s the confident Nicole Haught that we all know and hate? She’d never let a girl go because she’s scared of the outcome.”

“Waverly is different.” Nicole said. “Can we drop this, please? I’m just doing this to help out my roommate and that’s all.”

“Whatever you say.” Perry said, flipping a page in his textbook.

“Thank you.” Nicole sighed, returning her attention back to her homework. Finals were only a few days away and if she wanted to stay on the football team, she would have to keep up her good grades.

“Although…” Kate said, “If you two fall in love during this little stunt of yours, just know I told you so and you owe me two hundred dollars.”

“What? What for?” Nicole asked.

Kate shrugged, “Because I said so.”

“You’re all terrible people.” Nicole grumbled and tossed her things into her backpack. “I’m going to the library because none of you know how to shut up.”

“Awe, Haught’s getting worked up about her crush. How cute.” Mattie teased. “Don’t worry, love, it’ll all work out.”

Nicole flipped her off, “Fuck off.”

“Don’t forget it’s your turn to buy the pizza tonight!” Mattie called after Nicole as she headed for the exit. “I’ll take pepperoni and extra cheese with a side of we’re right and you’re wrong!”

///

“You’re dating Nicole Haught!” Jeremy clapped, unable to contain his happiness. “Oh my God, finally!”

“I’m not dating her, Jer.” Waverly said, a blush on her cheeks. “I’m fake dating her so my family will back off.”

“Mhm, sure.” Robin said, giving her a knowing look over his book. “You like her, just admit it.”

“I- I do not!” Waverly said, “You’re crazy!”

“Am I?” Robin asked.

“Yes!” Waverly said. “Nicole’s just a friend, that’s it!”

“You’re asking her to meet your family.” Jeremy said. “That’s a big step.”

Waverly slapped a hand to her forehead, “You’re unbelievable.”

“So, what’s the story?” Robin asked. “Do you have one yet?”

“We’re discussing it over coffee tomorrow.”

“Awe, you have a date.” Jeremy sighed happily and snuggled into his boyfriend’s side. “How cute.”

“It’s not a date!” Waverly hissed, “Stop calling it that.”

“Hey, we’re just calling it how it is.” Robin said. “You two like each other, anyone with eyes can see it.”

“Nicole doesn’t like me.” Waverly said, unable to hide the disappointment from her voice. “I’m not like any of the girl’s she’s been with before. I’m the farthest thing from her type.”

“Does Nicole even have a type?” Chrissy asked, as she dropped down next to Waverly onto the couch in the common room. She handed the brunette a coffee, “I thought she just slept with whoever.”

“That’s not true.” Waverly said. “People just assume.”

“Oh, so you know about her sex life?” Chrissy waggled her eyebrows. “Kinky.” 

Waverly slammed her book shut, huffing in annoyance. “I’m just needing some help from a friend and Nicole is the only one who can do it!”

“Wave, calm down, we’re just messin’ with you.” Chrissy said. “I get it, your dad’s brutal as hell. I totally get you wanting to get him off your back.”

“Thank you.” Waverly said, relaxing a little bit.

“Wynonna is gonna give Nicole hell, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” Waverly said. Wynonna was very protective of Waverly and she could only imagine the shit she was going to pull with Nicole. “Thankfully they’ve met before.”

“You’re ‘technically’ dating now, that’s a whole different story.”

“She’s gonna kill her.” Jeremy said.

“Oh, I’m sure she won’t.” Robin said, raising an eyebrow in question when Chrissy and Jeremy looked at him. “She won’t actually kill her, right?”

“She punched Champ in the face when she found out we kissed.” Waverly said, getting a bit nervous. “Granted, she never liked him in the first place. I think she likes Nicole.”

“You like her, so I’m sure she will.”

“I don’t like her like that!”

Chrissy laughed, “God, I love seeing you so worked up over a crush, it’s like middle school all over again.”

“I’m starting to regret agreeing to go to the same school as you.”

Chrissy pressed a palm to her chest, “Harsh.”

“Hey, speak of the devil! Look who just walked in.” Robin said, nodding towards the entrance to the common room. “Haught! Over here!”

Waverly grabbed a pillow from off the couch and tossed it at the astronomy major, “Robin!”

Nicole stopped in front of the group of friends, a dopey smile on her face, “Hey guys, what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing much.” Jeremy said. “Just talking about love-”

“What’re you doing here?” Waverly asked, interrupting Jeremy. She moved closer to Chrissy to give the redhead more room.

“My friends are being stupid and I needed a quiet place to study but the library is packed.” Nicole sat down next to Waverly. “I was on the way back to our room.”

“That’s why we’re here.” Jeremy said. “You’re more than welcome to join us if you want.”

“Cool.” Nicole said. “Thanks.”

“Don’t forget it’s your turn for pizza tonight.” Waverly reminded Nicole of her weekly commitment to her friend’s that she sometimes forgot when she was too busy or overwhelmed.

“Mattie already reminded me.” Nicole said, pulling out her laptop. “Do you wanna come tonight? I mean, if you’re not busy.”

“I don’t wanna intrude.” Waverly said, unsure.

“We drink beer and watch football sometimes.” Nicole deadpanned. “The craziest we get is by playing monopoly and fighting over who’s the banker.”

Waverly snorted out a laugh, “God, you’re such a loser.”

“You wound me, Waverly Earp.” Nicole said. “So, you in?”

“Only if you let me be the banker.”

“Deal.” Nicole said.

“Well, look at the time.” Jeremy said, pulling Robin up and onto his feet. “We have to… go to the… store... for snacks. Bye!”

“Yeah, me too!” Chrissy said, practically tripping over her own two feet as she followed after the boys. “See you guys later!”

“They’re uh… acting different.”

“They are? Huh, I didn’t notice.”

“My parents are upset I won’t be in until after Christmas but they’re okay with it.” Nicole said, changing the subject. “I’m all yours.”

Waverly’s heart skipped a beat at the words although she knew they weren’t meant the way she desperately wanted them be. “That’s great! Seriously, thank you so much. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

“We’re friends, Waves.” Nicole said. “I’d do anything for you.”

“I...” Waverly cleared her throat, “You’re such a softy, no wonder the ladies are always chasing after you.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mhm, sure.” Waverly said, reaching for her textbook once more. “Do you have your Biology notes on you? I left mine in the room.”

“Yeah, here.” Nicole said, handing her a folder of notes.

“Thanks.” Waverly said, absentmindedly scooting closer to Nicole as she got comfortable. “You’re the best.”

Nicole gave her a smile, “I try.”

///

“Oh, go fuck yourself.” Mattie said, as she took a few sips of her beer. “Every single time.”

Nicole smirked, “It’s a talent of mine.”

“Fucking bastard is what you are.” Dolls said, slamming his cards on the table. “Name one thing you’re bad at?”

“Commitment and spelling bees?” Mattie teased.

Nicole flipped the mechanic off, “Low blow, Perley.”

Mattie shrugged and stood up, heading into the kitchen for another slice of pizza. “Waverly, can I get you anything since Haught is such a shitty host?”

“This is your apartment.” Nicole argued, looking towards Waverly. “Ignore her.”

“Wow, rude.” Mattie said. “Are you always this hateful in front of pretty girls?”

Nicole clenched her jaw, knowing Mattie was trying to rile her up and it was working. She swallowed down the last of her beer and returned her attention back to the game. “Who’s up for another round?”  
  


“You guys are brutal.” Waverly said from her spot on the couch.

“Perry got stitches one time because he was so upset he lost he tripped over the coffee table.” Kate laughed from the bar. “Classic.”

“Can I get you anything?” Nicole asked Waverly, ignoring the remarks from her friends. They’d been hanging out the last couple of hours playing all sorts of games and the two women had barely had any time to talk to one another thanks to the chaos of Nicole’s friends.

Waverly shook her head, smiling down at the redhead, “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Do you wanna play?” Nicole asked. “I promise we’ll go easy?”

“It’s a lie.” Dolls said. “Don’t fall for her tricks.”

“Yeah, even if she has a-” Perry paused, eyes wide. “Come on, Waverly, join us. Maybe you’re the one to kick Haught’s ass.”

“Well how could I ever say no to that?” Waverly said as she got up from the couch and moved to sit next to Kate, across from her roommate.

“Oh, it’s on now!” Dolls said, a little drunk. “Deal the cards, Haught. Let’s get this show on the road!”

Nicole shook her head and started to deal the cards. Even though her friends picked on her she knew they loved her fiercely and would do anything for her if she asked. The fact that she was with the people she trusted most and her crush made the night one of the best night’s she could’ve ever asked for. In the mist of finals, championship games and the holiday’s, it was nice to let loose and forget about the world for a couple of hours.

“Alright.” Mattie said, shuffling her UNO cards in her hands. “Earp, you’re up first. Why don’t you show us what you’ve got.”


	2. II

Waverly made her way into Revenant Café, a sports themed coffee shop that was right in the middle of campus, the perfect place to meet Nicole in between their classes. She dropped her umbrella into the bin by the door and searched the small shop for her roommate, smiling in triumphant when she spotted the redhead at a table in the very back. Waverly took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and headed towards Nicole, her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

“I got you a coffee and a vanilla dipped donut.” Nicole said, as she closed her book and looked up at the brunette. “Looks like you missed the storm.”

“Umbrella.” Waverly said, motioning towards the front of the store as she sat down across from Nicole. “It seems that you weren’t so lucky.”

“Practice.” Nicole said, pulling her letterman tighter around her body. “Coach thinks the rain will only make us stronger.”

“You don’t have a game until after we get back though.” Waverly said, clearly confused. “Thank you, for the coffee.”

“Champions never rest.” Nicole shrugged. “It’s the way of the game, baby.!”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “Such a jock.”

“You love it.” Nicole said, a dopey grin on her face. “So, should we get this thing started or not? I have class in an hour and I want this to be perfect.”

“S- sure.” Waverly said, her nerves starting to form in her belly again. “Obviously, we couldn’t have been dating for long, because Wynonna was here a couple of weeks ago, so that wouldn’t work.”

“We could’ve just kept it a secret?” Nicole suggested. “Do you really think anyone is going to believe that I skipped out on my family holiday’s this year to go home with you after we’ve only dated a few weeks?”

Waverly was silent a moment before she nodded in agreement, “You’re right, that wouldn’t work. Willa would definitely know something was up.”

“We could say Halloween night? We were both at that party after the game.” Nicole said. “We’ve been roommates for a while, our chemistry is undeniable and after a few drinks, we couldn’t help ourselves? We talked it over the next day and decided to try things out? We didn’t tell your sister because we didn’t want to jinx it or say anything too soon so we wanted to wait.”  


“Did you just come up with that?” Waverly asked, impressed.

“I may be a jock, but I’m not stupid.” Nicole said. “I’m not Perry.”

Waverly laughed, “He’s not that bad.”

“He stuck a fork in a toaster and electrocuted himself just last week.” Nicole said. “It was the fourth time that’s happened.”

“Oh my God.” Waverly said, shaking her head in amusement. “That’s horrible!”

“It was great.” Nicole said, straightening up. “Okay, back to work. Does that sound okay to you? We could just say we’ve kept it under wraps.”

“Sure.” Waverly said, ignoring every thought in her mind telling her that this was a horrible idea and that she was going to only get hurt. “Halloween night, at a party, that’s perfect.”

“Total cliché.” Nicole agreed. “You asked me out.”

“I would never-”

“Yeah, but only because you’re comfortable around me.” Nicole said. “We both have been through shitty breakups and we’ve been there for each other. With a little alcohol in your system, you’re not as shy as you normally are. So, you asked me out, okay?”

“Tell me about your family again.” Waverly pulled out a notebook so she could write some things down. “I know I’ve heard bits and pieces but I think I need a little more if we’re going to be fake dating.”

“Yeah, of course.” Nicole said, “Uh, my parents are Mike and Teresa. They don’t have a problem with me missing out on the holiday’s this year because they’re very busy with work. My dad is a manager at an auto shop and he’s about to help open up a few more in town, so he’s been focused on that. My mom is an English teacher and she’s had to take on a couple extra classes due to budget cuts. Jake is in school to be a doctor. Alex is a pharmacy technician. We’re from Toronto but moved to San Diego was I was six because of my mom’s job. Oh, and I have a dog named Eliot!”

Waverly snorted out a laugh, “I know about Eliot, Nic. I don’t really think my family is gonna go into that much detail.” She paused, thoughtful. “Well, then again, Willa might.”

“They’re gonna eat me alive, aren’t they?”

Waverly shrugged, “Maybe a little?”

“The things I’d do for you, Waverly Earp.” Nicole clasped her hands together. “Okay, what next? We have to make this as real as possible. PDA, nicknames, presents? How are we going to go about this?”

Waverly’s brain came to a screeching halt and her eyes grew wide in panic, “I uh- well, um-”

Nicole looked at Waverly, an eyebrow raised in question, “You alright?”

“Fine, I’m fine!” Waverly said, mentally scolding herself for not thinking this far ahead. Of course they would have to kiss and call each other nicknames to make it believable. God, she was so stupid! “Well, I think the more the better, right? Like I said, you’re everything my daddy can’t stand and I just want him to stop. Maybe if he sees us together, and thinks that we’re really serious and that we don’t care what he thinks, he’ll leave me alone.”

Nicole nodded, her mind far away at the thought of kissing Waverly. “Yeah, um, I mean, totally! I’ll make sure my tattoos and piercings are on full display too, as much as they can be.”

“Cool!” Waverly cleared her throat, “That’s great!”

“Yeah?” Nicole asked.

“We can pull this off, right?” Waverly asked, unsure.

“I don’t see why not.” Nicole said. “I’m your friend and I’m willing to help you out however you need, okay? Whatever you need from me.”

“Should we have a safe word?”

Nicole nearly choked on her latte, “Excuse me?”

Waverly looked down, a blush on her cheeks as she realized what she had just said, “No, I mean, oh fudge nuggets. Like, if it becomes too much and you don’t want to do this anymore? If my daddy or Willa take it too far-”

Nicole reached across the table, resting a hand on top of Waverly’s, “I told you I’m in and I plan to see this through. I can handle a little judgement from your family, Wave, this isn’t my first rodeo.”

“Only if you’re sure.” Waverly said slowly, giving Nicole an out if she needed one.

“I’m positive.” Nicole said, standing up; she slung her backpack onto her shoulder. “I’ve gotta get to class. Anything else you can think of, text me or let me know tonight, okay?”

“Thank you.”

Nicole waved her off, “What are friends for?”

Waverly rested her chin in her palm and watched Nicole leave, “Yeah, friends.” She sighed, “That’s exactly what we are.”

///

Nicole stepped out of the shower after her nightly run to the sound of her phone buzzing onto the bathroom sink. She wrapped herself up in her towel and picked up her phone, seeing that it was a group chat with her siblings.

**{Alex – 6:24PM} **You’re not coming in for Christmas, what the hell Nic?

**{Jake – 6:26PM} **Yeah dude, mom and dad just told us! Not cool.

**{Nicole – 6:41PM} **I’m helping a friend out with a family issue. I’ll be home for the last week of break, calm down.

**{Alex – 6:44PM} **So. There’s a girl.

**{Jake – 6:45PM} **Oh, please little sis, tell me it’s not Shae.

**{Alex – 6:45PM} **I’ll disown you if it’s her, Nicky, you deserve better.

**{Jake – 6:47PM} **I didn’t even know you liked her anymore.

**{Alex – 6:49PM }**Yeah, she’s a total bitch. No offense.

**{Nicole – 6:51PM} **It’s not Shae. I’m just helping my roommate piss off her family so they’ll back off of her, that’s it.

**{Alex – 6:54PM} **Waverly?

**{Alex – 6:55PM} **Your helping your roommate Waverly? The one you’re hopelessly in love with. The one who comes to all of your games despite hating football?

**{Nicole – 6:57PM} **I’m not in love with her.

**{Nicole – 6:58PM} **How do you know she hates football?

**{Jake – 7:01PM} **Sorry, I’m elbow deep in a cadaver right now.

**{Jake – 7:03PM}** Also, she told us when we came in for your homecoming game. She kept telling her freakishly tall friend that they couldn’t leave because she was there to support you. Girl didn’t even know what was going on half the time but she cheered every time you did something right.

**{Alex – 7:05PM}** How are you texting while you’re- you know what, never mind.

**{Nicole – 7:15PM}** Let’s not make a bigger deal out of this then it needs to be. Waverly and I are friends and she asked for my help, I wasn’t going to say no.

**{Jake – 7:21PM}**You couldn’t say no if you wanted to.

**{Nicole – 7:23PM} **I’m going to go finish getting ready.

**{Alex – 7:42PM} **Oh no, don’t go! We want all the details!

**{Nicole – 7:45PM} **Goodnight guys.

Nicole dropped her phone back onto the sink with a roll of her eyes, and started to get ready for a night in. Leave it to her older brother and sister to make a big deal out of absolutely nothing. Of course Nicole was going to help out Waverly, they were friends and she knows the brunette would do the same for her if she asked. That didn’t mean that Nicole was in love with her, why couldn’t anyone understand that? Yes, Waverly was beautiful and funny and kind and smart and yes, Nicole’s heart always acted up when the brunette was around but that didn’t mean she had feelings for her.

Right?  


_Right? _

“Nic, you almost done? I really have to pee!”

“I’ll be right out!”

Oh, who was Nicole trying to fool.

She was in love with Waverly Earp.

Too bad the brunette would never feel the same way.

///

“I have to kiss her!” Waverly fell dramatically onto Chrissy and Jeremy’s couch, clearly in a panic. Her two best friends were sharing an apartment together and even though they asked her to join them, she didn’t want to leave Nicole.

“What?” Jeremy asked, looking up from his textbook.

“Nicole!” Waverly said, running a hand through her hair. “I’m going to have to kiss her if I want this entire thing to work out!”

“Isn’t that what you want?” Robin asked.

“Not under false pretenses!” Waverly said. “Oh God, I don’t think I can do this.”

“You dated Champ Hardy for years, Waverly, you can do anything.” Chrissy handed Waverly a glass of wine. “Just breathe.”

“What if they’re so hateful towards her that she moves out and never speaks to me again?” Waverly asked. “I know Nicole acts like she’s so tough but she’s such a softy. You know how my family can be, Chrissy, what if-”

“If you don’t calm down, I’m gonna smack you.” Chrissy said, as she sat down next to her best friend. “Your family isn’t you, Wave.”

“I know, but-”

“Nicole’s a cool person.” Robin said. “You told her what to expect and she still said yes, I think you’ll be just fine.”

“I’m keeping her away from her family.” Waverly said. “I’m so selfish.”

“Isn’t she going to be with them the last week before school starts up again?” Jeremy asked. “Nicole doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do, you know that. Stop freaking out, you’re stressing me out.”

“What Jeremy means, is that Nicole is a big girl and she can make her own decisions.” Chrissy said, “Everything is going to be fine.”

“Willa is going to know something is off.”

“You give her too much credit.” Chrissy said. “If Willa isn’t looking at herself in a mirror, she’s crying to her boy toy that she needs more diamonds. I highly doubt she’ll take the time to try and figure out if your relationship is real or not.”

“But-”

“I will kick you out if you don’t shut up.” Chrissy said, matter of fact. “What’s done is done. If you want your dad off your back, this will be the way to do it. He may not like it but he won’t advocate you leaving or cheating on someone, even if he doesn’t like her. At least for a little while, he’ll stop trying to force you to be with someone you don’t want to be with.” 

“He’s going to hate her.”

“Who cares.” Robin said. “It’s your life. You can be with who you want, you don’t need anyone else’s approval and you know that. Besides, Wynonna likes Nicole, so you already have someone in your corner.”

“Yeah, until she finds out we’re ‘dating’ and didn’t tell her.”

“You leave in three days.” Chrissy said. “You and Nicole already know everything there is to know about each other and you’re comfortable. Just perfect your story and you’ll be golden.”

“I like that you have so much faith in me.” Waverly said. “Makes me feel a little bit better about all of this.”

“Oh, I fully believe this is going to blow up in your faces but not because you’re going to get caught, but because you two idiots have feelings for each other and refuse to acknowledge it.” Chrissy said. “This is every romantic comedy ever, just gayer.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Robin clapped his hands together. “Enough worrying, it’s time to try my new dish. Come, sit.”

“You picked a good one, Jer.” Waverly patted his shoulder as she sat next to him at the dining room table. “Thanks Robin.”

“Anytime, Waverly.” Robin said, passing the dish around. “I like being able to try out my new recipes with you guys.

“What time do you guys leave again on Friday?” Chrissy asked, trying her best to keep the conversation away from Waverly and Nicole, so the brunette wouldn’t freak out anymore.

“Six.” Jeremy grumbled. “_Someone_wants to get to the ski resort early even though we can’t check in until his dad gets there.”

“There’s a ton of stuff we can do while we wait, babe.” Robin said. “I promise you’ll love it so much you’ll forget you’re even tired.”

“You guys are so cute.” Waverly said, smiling at them. “I’m glad you’re happy.”

Chrissy blanched, “You say that now, but you don’t have to see it every day.”

“Oh shush, you’re just jealous because Perry hasn’t asked you out yet.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Chrissy held up a fresh basket of bread, her cheeks flushed. “Rolls anyone?”

///

“I’m bringing someone home for Christmas break.”

“Who?” Ward asked, taken aback. “You’ve not spoken about anyone.”

“Her name is Nicole.” Waverly said, biting her lip nervously. “She’s my roommate and- and we’re together.”

Ward, who was casually sipping on his morning coffee, spat out his drink onto his desk. “Excuse me?”

“I- uh.” Waverly sighed, ready for the argument. “We’ve been together for a few months and I think it’s time she meets everyone. I’m serious about her.”

“Oh, Waverly, no you aren’t.” Ward said, “You’re just going through a phase. You’re confused, you just haven’t found the right man yet.” 

“No, daddy, I told you years ago, I’m bisexual.” Waverly said. “She means so much to me and I want her to come home with me this year.”

“Andrea’s family is coming in this year, honey, what will they think when they see you with a- a woman!” Ward said, exasperated.

“I don’t have to come home this year.” Waverly said. “I can stay here.”

“No, no! Don’t do that!” Ward said, “We have our photoshoot and dinner with the mayor to go over plans to expand the farm. Briton, his son, really likes you and I was thinking you could go on a date with him to-”

“Nicole is my girlfriend, daddy!” Waverly said, irritated. Why was it so hard for her father to understand that she wasn’t available? “You’re important to me and I want you to meet her.”

Ward mumbled something incoherent before sighing deeply, “Will she be with us the entire break?”

“Not the last week.” Waverly said. “She’ll be going home to her family.”

“She’ll at least miss our New Year’s party.” Ward said. “That’s- alright, fine, but only because you refuse to take no for an answer.”

“Thank you.” Waverly said, relieved. “I’ll see you in three days.”  


“Do I need to send extra money for another plane ticket?”

“Please.” Waverly said. “Will Max pick us up at the airport?”

“Yes.” Ward said, “Maxwell will be there waiting for you.”

“Okay.” Waverly said. “Thanks again.”

“Waverly?”

“Yes?”

“Just don’t parade your relationship around town, okay? This is a really crucial time for me and I don’t have time to explain the sins of my youngest daughter.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “I’ll try my best.”

“Wonderful.” Ward said and wished her well before hanging up the phone.

“He’s a peach, isn’t he?” Nicole looked up from her textbook and looked to her roommate. “I could hear the distain all the way over here.”

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Waverly asked for the umpteenth time that day. The closer they were to going back to Waverly’s home town, the more nervous she got and she was driving herself crazy.

Nicole closed her history textbook, over all the studying. If she didn’t know it now, she wouldn’t know it for her final tomorrow. Just one more left and she was done for the next five weeks. “If you ask me one more time-”

Waverly hold her hands up, “Okay, okay, I’m just checking.”

“You don’t have to get a plane ticket for me.”

Waverly waved her off, “You’re doing a huge favor for me, it’s the least I could do. You’re about to put up with four weeks of hell just to help me out.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that horrible.”

“I hope you’re right.” Waverly said, collapsing onto her bed. “He took it better than I thought, but I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of it when I’m home. He won’t be able to force me into a relationship with someone but he’ll make sure to judge every single thing we do.”

“If you’re trying to talk me out of this, it won’t work.” Nicole said. “I’ve never even met the man and I already can’t wait to make his skin crawl.”

“Andrea’s family is coming in too.” Waverly groaned at the thought of dealing with her stepmother’s judgmental parents and siblings. “If you breathe too loud they’re ready to pounce. God, can we just go to your place?”

“Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?” Nicole asked, climbing into her own bed.

“Yeah, but at least he knows right?” Waverly said, “That might be enough to get him to shut the hell up.”

“We created an entire backstory, Waverly.” Nicole said, dropping her glasses into the case. “We can’t quit now.”

“At least we’ll have Wynonna.” Waverly said. “She always makes things better.”

“It’ll be fine.” Nicole said, matter of fact as she turned their lamp off. “Go to bed, you have two finals tomorrow.”  


“Okay, _baby_.” Waverly said, as she climbed under the covers. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Wave.”

///

“Your safe word is-”

“Tacos are tasty.” Nicole said, rolling her eyes at the euphemism. “I don’t need a safe word, Mattie, I’m meeting he parents, not storming a drug ring.”

“You’re meeting the family, Nicole, the family!” Mattie said, as if Nicole didn’t already know the reason for her trip to Purgatory. “He’s a big-time farmer with more money than anyone knows what to do with. You’re walking into hell, my dude.”

“You’re so dramatic.” Nicole said, as she triple checked her bags; they were leaving soon and she wanted to make sure she had all that she needed before they left. “I’m aware I’m there to piss them off. I’ve dealt with homophobic parents before, you know that.”

“You also weren’t in love with Kelsea.” Kate pointed out. “This is different.”

“I’m not-” Nicole sighed, “Never mind. You guys are freaking out for no reason at all. Waverly has already talked to me.”

“There’s a difference between being told about it and experiencing it.” Dolls said. “If it gets too much, send me your safe word and I’ll be on the next flight out to get you.”

“Yeah, but that’s if you aren’t murdered first.” Mattie said, as she casually went through Nicole’s clothes. “He’s probably got a guy that could kill you in sixty different ways and we would never find your body.”

“I’ll be fine.” Nicole said. “It’s just for a month and then I’ll never have to see him again, okay?”

“Until you both realize you’re head over heels in love with each other and you become a permanent part of her family.” Perry said.

“Waverly doesn’t feel that way towards me.” Nicole said, “You know that.”

“You really are stupid.” Dolls said. “I hope you know that.”

“You’re such a-”

Before Nicole could spit out an insult, Waverly walked into their dorm room, a huge smile on her face. Although the brunette wasn’t the biggest fan of spending the holidays at her childhood home, she loved being able to see Wynonna and that always made it a little bit better. “You ready to go?” She asked Nicole, as she grabbed her own bags.

“Yep.” Nicole said, “Ready when you are.”

“Great!” Waverly said, “Our Uber will be here in five minutes.”

“Awesome, I’ll be right down.” Nicole promised as she zipped up her suitcase.

“Okay, cool.” Waverly said. “I’ll meet you down there.”

Nicole nodded, “Sure thing.”

Mattie waited until Waverly was gone before looking at Nicole, a smirk plastered on her face. “You are so, so screwed, my dude.”

Nicole flipped Mattie off, “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“My sister can wait.” Mattie waved her off. “Like I’d ever miss a chance to see you off with the love of your life.”

“Mattie, I swear to God!”

“Oh, look at the time.” Dolls said, looking at his watch. “Haught, it’s time for you to go get your girl.”

Nicole huffed, annoyed. “I hate all of you.”

“Have a safe flight!” Kate said as she shoved Nicole out of her own room.

“I packed a mistletoe in your carry on just in case you need a little push!” 

“Percy, you little-”

“Bye now!”

Nicole huffed as the door to her room slammed in her face.

It was official, she had the worst friends in the world. 


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Purgatory, ya'll.

“My palms are sweaty.”

Waverly snorted out a laugh as she looked at the redheaded jock, “Why?”

“Your palms are sweaty, too, right?” Nicole asked, unable to look away from the giant three-story mansion in front of her. In her nineteen years on this earth, she had never seen anything like it; it was huge.

“Is Miss Nicole alright?” Maxwell, the Earp family butler/driver asked, as he unpacked the limo and dropped their bags by the door.

Waverly nodded, “She’ll be okay.”

“Right then, I’ll deliver your things to your room.” Maxwell said. “Dinner will be ready at 6pm; Martha is making your favorite tonight.”

Thank you, Max.”

Max paused just inside the main entrance, “Miss Waverly?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t let your father get to you, okay? I think you two are a lovely couple, and if I’m being honest, I’m glad you finally found someone who treats you right.”

Waverly blushed and took a deep breath before tucking her arm into Nicole’s side, pulling the football player closer to her, “Yeah, me too.”

Max smiled at her and nodded before disappearing into the foyer.

Nicole, who was brought back to the reality by Waverly being closer to her, looked down at the brunette. “You, uh, you really grew up here?”  
  


“Apparently farms are huge in Purgatory.” Waverly shrugged, “Daddy started out small and by the time Willa was born, he had built an empire.”

“Homophobic or not, that’s kinda impressive.” Nicole admitted, still in disbelief at the size of the place.

“Ready to go in?” Waverly asked.

“It’s now or never, right?”

Waverly interlaced their fingers and took off up the stairs and into the house, Nicole close behind her. “Welcome to The Homestead.”

“Holy fucking shit.” Nicole said, eyes wide as she took in the interior; outside of Waverly, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

“Angel, is that you?”

Waverly perked up at the familiar voice and dropped Nicole’s hand before falling into the arms of an older woman, “Martha, I missed you.”

“Me too, little miss.” Martha, the older cook said, a huge smile on her face. She hugged the brunette tightly before pulling back to look at her. “How are you?”

“I’m doing great!” Waverly said, “School is good, I passed all my finals.”

“That’s my girl.” Martha squeezed her cheeks in approval before she turned her attention to Nicole, “I heard we we’re going to be having an extra guest this year. Now, are you gonna introduce me to this young lady or am I just gonna have to call her Red any time I see her?”

“Marty, this is Nicole.” Waverly said, “My- my girlfriend.”

“Hi ma’am.” Nicole said, holding out her hand. “Nicole Haught.”

“Oh, don’t ma’am me.” Martha said, waving her off. “No need to be formal with me, okay? We’re a family here, call me Marty.”

Nicole nodded, “Yes ma- Marty.”

“That’s better.” Martha said, “I hate to go but I have to finish dinner. Everyone will be here soon, so you should unpack while you wait.”

“Where’s Daddy?” Waverly asked.

“He’s at a meeting, dear, but he’ll be home soon.”

“Wynonna?”

“She’ll be here at some point.” Martha said, nodding towards the staircase. “Go. Rest, relax, we’ve got a very busy night tonight. Max will come and get you when your father arrives.”

///

“Martha is super sweet.” Nicole said, as she closed the door behind herself.

“Marty’s been in my life since I was a baby, she practically raised me.” Waverly said, as she sat down on the edge of her bed. “Daddy drank a lot after Mama left and then threw himself into work. Andrea came into the picture and that was that. I didn’t really see him much growing up, not unless I did something to get his attention or there was a party going on and we were needed to be the perfect daughters.”

“That really sucks, Wave, I’m sorry.” Nicole said. “I didn’t know.”

“Don’t apologize.” Waverly said. “Wynonna and I had each other, that was more than enough. Max and Marty are just a bonus.”

“I couldn’t imagine growing up without my family, they mean the world to me.” Nicole said. “Alex is a lot like Wynonna.”

“Really?” Waverly asked. “I didn’t think it was possible to have two Wynonna’s.”

At the beginning of the school year, Waverly met Nicole’s family, but didn’t get the chance to learn much about them due to their busy schedule. Between the homecoming game and the short time the Haught’s were in town, she hardly saw them. Outside of the occasional hello on Facetime, or hearing a story from Nicole, Waverly didn’t know a whole lot about her roommate’s older siblings.

“She’s grown up a lot but yeah, my parents dealt with a lot of her shit when we were younger. If she wasn’t getting into a fight with of the boys, she was trying to steal money from the teachers at her school.” Nicole said. “She got arrested for accidentally starting a fire in a bar and it scared her so bad she got her shit together.”

“How do you accidentally start a fire?” Waverly asked.

“It’s Alex, she’ll always find a way, trust me.” Nicole said, “Long story short, she became a pharmacy tech and now she’s the second favorite in the family.”

“Who’s number one?” Waverly asked.

“Me, duh.” Nicole said, with a playful roll of her eyes.” I’m a star football player and uh, have you seen me? I’m hot as hell.”

“So modest.”

“What can I say?” Nicole laughed. “I can’t help that everyone loves me.”

“You’re so full of shit, Haught.” Waverly said. “You’re probably the least favorite and refuse to admit it. Your brother’s a doctor, right? I’m sorry but he’s already better than you.”

Nicole gasped, offended, “How dare you!”

Waverly couldn’t help but giggle, “You hate being in last place so you create lies to make yourself feel better.”

“My brother is NOT a doctor just yet, thank you very much.” Nicole said, “You don’t even know what you’re talking about, Waverly.”

“God, you’re a toddler.”

Nicole shrugged, “You should see us together. Jake busted his nose last Christmas trying to get to the last biscuit.”

“Everyone around you is so violent, you know that right?” Waverly said. “I’m starting to think that you’re the problem here.”

“Hey, you decided to be my girlfriend so you don’t get to-”

“Waverly, your father is home and would like to speak with you!” Maxwell said, knocking softly on the closed door. “He asks that you come alone.”

Waverly groaned, “I’ll be right down.”

“I’ll let him know.” Maxwell said. “He’s in the main study.”

“You have more than one study?” Nicole asked. “I never even had my own bathroom.”

“He has one on every floor.” Waverly said as she stood up. “This shouldn’t take long, okay? Feel free to explore in the meantime.”

“I think I’ll stay right here.” Nicole said, as she pulled her laptop from her carry on. “Have loads of fun.”

“I’ll introduce you to everyone in a little bit.” Waverly promised before disappearing from her room to go and see her father.

///

“I see you got in alright.” Ward said, giving Waverly a once over. “You look… comfortable. I hope you brought proper dinner wear?

“Yes Daddy, I did, I just had a long flight.” Waverly sighed, already done with the conversation.

“Wonderful.” Ward said, motioning to one of the chairs across from his desk. “Sit, we have some things to discuss.”

“Don’t you want to meet Nicole?”

Ward waved her off, “There are some rules we have to discuss first.”

“Rules?” Waverly asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

“You two will not be sharing a room together.” Ward said. “Andrea’s family will be with us during the holidays and it’s very inappropriate. She can sleep on the top floor with the rest of the staff.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Waverly scoffed. “Robert and Willa get to share a room. Hell, even Doc and Wynonna do too!”

“Watch your language, Waverly.” Ward said. “Your sister is married and I will not have her away from her husband. As for Wynonna, she is with a man and-”

“This is unfair and you know it.” Waverly said. “Why can’t you just accept me for who I am?”

“Because it’s _not_who you are.” Ward said. “You’re confused, sweetheart.”

“You’re supposed to support me.” Waverly said, frustrated tears filling her eyes. She hated how upset she got when she was around her father but she couldn’t help it, she couldn’t stand the fact that he didn’t care about her happiness.

“And I will, when you wake up and make the right decisions.” Ward said. “As for the rest of the rules I have set for you. Nicole is your friend while you’re here, okay? None of that girl- none of that other shit.”

“I won’t hide her.” Waverly said, defiant. “If someone asks about her, I won’t lie. I promise you that.”

Ward sighed heavily, “Why must you be so difficult. All I ask-”

“All I ask if that you be happy for me!” Waverly yelled. “I’m in a happy, loving relationship and that should be more than enough. You care more about your image than you do about me and I hate it!”

“We aren’t going to throw a fit.” Ward said, ignoring her outburst. “Go wipe your tears, clean up a bit and get ready for dinner. We will finish this conversation later. Make sure your _friend_gets settled in.”

“But-”

“Dinner is at 6pm.” Ward said, his attention on his phone. “Don’t be late.”

///

“This isn’t fair and I’m sorry.” Waverly said sadly as she dropped unceremoniously into the computer chair in Nicole’s temporary room.

“You do know it’s only going to get worse from here, right?” Nicole said, “Just say the word and if it’s too much I’ll leave.”

“I didn’t come all this way for him to win.” Waverly said. “This is who I am and I won’t hide it because he wants me to.”

Nicole nodded and started to unpack her things into the dresser, “I’m proud of you, you know, for standing up for yourself.”  
  


Waverly shrugged, “I refuse to be someone I’m not.”

“Then I’ll be the best damn girlfriend you’ll ever have.” Nicole said, matter of fact. “Whatever you need me from, all you have to do is ask.”

Waverly smiled up at her, “Seriously, thank you for doing this. You being here, it’s made things a lot easier on me.”

“You’re one of my best friends, Wave, I’d do anything for you.”

“I really don’t know how you’re single.” Waverly said, “You’re a sweetheart.”  
  


“I thought I was just another dumb jock?” Nicole teased.

Waverly rolled her eyes, “You can be dumb and sweet at the same time, Nic.”

Nicole flipped her off, “Asshole.”

“Shae was stupid for breaking up with you.”

“Oh, uh, I actually broke up with her.” Nicole ran a hand through her hair. “Just didn’t… uh… no time for a relationship right now. I’ve got football and school and been super busy with… stuff.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Waverly said, “You just won’t admit-”

“Knock knock, Lovebirds, I brought cookies!” Martha said, as she made her way into the room, a plate of fresh baked cookies in her hands. “Heard about what happened with your father and thought I would try and make things a little bit better.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Marty.” Waverly said, but thanked her anyways.

Martha waved her off, “Hush, I’ll do what I want.”

“Yes ma’am.” Waverly shoved a cookie into her mouth. “Sorry.”

“That’s better.” Martha shut the door and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Now, I know this isn’t ideal, having to spend the nights away from each other, but I’ll have you know that I take my glasses off at 11pm every night. I can’t see a damned thing after that; you could be right in front of me and I couldn’t even tell you who or what you are.”

“Okay…” Nicole said, confused at the admission.

“I’ll make sure Wynonna doesn’t scare you again, like last time.”

Martha sighed, defeated. “Oh, dear little baby Jesus in a manger. What I’m tryin’ to say is that if someone were to sneak in here at night, there wouldn’t be anyone to rat you out. Max sleeps like the dead, but he wouldn’t care anyways and Sammy has her fan on and can’t hear worth a damn as it is. Just don’t be comin’ up here before ten because Jackson is getting’ ready for work and he’ll run to your father before you even have a chance to blink.”

“Who’s Jackson?” Nicole asked, confused. “Sammy?”

“Sammy is our housekeeper.” Waverly said. “She lives for drama so keep a close eye on her; she tried to sleep with Champ once while I was downstairs.”

“How old is she?” Nicole asked.

“A few years older than us? I don’t really know but I stay out of her way.” Waverly said. “She freaks me out.”

“She wants to be Waverly.” Martha said. “One time I walked in on her trying on one of her dresses; to this day she won’t look me in the eye.”

“Jackson?” Nicole asked.

“Daddy’s righthand man.” Waverly said, refraining from rolling her eyes. “He handles things at night, checking in on the farms and making sure everything is up to code.”

“Okay, I think I got it.”

“That’a girl.” Martha stood up and wiped her hands on her t-shirt. “I better get back downstairs before I have another fire in my kitchen.”

“Thanks for the cookies.”

“There’s more where that came for, all you gotta do is ask!”

Nicole looked at Waverly once Martha was gone, “That is the sweetest woman I think I’ve ever met in my entire life. Can we take her back home with us?”

“I’ve tried but she loves it here too much.” Waverly said. “Daddy gave her the kitchen of her dreams and she won’t leave it.”

Nicole laughed, “She’s precious.”

“Believe me, I know.”

///

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Waverly asked, pausing just outside the dining room. She pulled the redhead off to the side. “I mean, I know that you say you are but you’re about to meet so many people and-”

Nicole shook her head with a sigh and cupped Waverly’s jaw, forcing the brunette to look at her. “If you ask me one more time, I think I’m going to lose my fucking mind, Wave. Everything is fine, I’m fine, you’re fine.”

Waverly took a deep, shaky breath, “But what if-”

“Nope, we’re not doing this again.” Nicole said, matter of fact. “Your gonna introduce me to your family and we’re going to just be us. That’s all.”

Waverly’s heart skipped a beat and she nodded, calming down a little. “Okay?”

“Okay?” Nicole asked, unsure.

“Waverly, I heard you were bringing a… guest for the holidays.”

“Bobo, hi.” Waverly said, plastering a fake smile onto her face; she absentmindedly stepped closer to Nicole. “I- I didn’t know you guys here yet. Nicole, this is Robert, Willa’s husband.”

Bobo gave Nicole a once over, “Everyone calls me Bobo. Robert is too formal.”

Nicole, sensing Waverly’s discomfort, wrapped an around her waist, holding her tightly to her side. “Nicole Haught. Waverly’s girlfriend.”

“I hope you know you’re about to walk into a shit show.” Bobo said, “Andrea’s brother brought his girlfriend and she is not happy to have her here. Good luck tonight, I’m _sure_it’ll be just fine.”

“Robert, come now… Oh, hello Waverly.” Willa said, eyes narrowed as she walked up to her husband. “Father said you were here.”

“Hey.” Waverly said, “I uh… I like your dress.”

“Robert got it for me for our three-year wedding anniversary.” Willa said, running a hand down the front to smooth out the wrinkles. “Handmade from Italy, isn’t it gorgeous.”

“Honey, this is Nicole Haught, little Waverly’s girlfriend.” Bobo said. “Aren’t they just adorable. Look, they’re even matching.”

Nicole glanced at Waverly’s dress and down at her tie, realizing they had accidentally matched. She held out her hand to Willa, “Nice to meet you.”

Willa stared at her hand for a moment before looking at her younger sister. “Come, sit next to me, I think we should catch up.”

“Is Wynonna here?” Waverly asked.

Willa shook her head, “She’ll show up when she wants to, you know that.”

“Right, yeah.” Waverly said, disappointed; she really wished her sister would show up on time just once.

“Let’s go.” Willa said, pulling Waverly into the dining room and into their sits. She nodded to the empty one on the opposite side of Waverly. “Nicole, for you.”

“Thanks.” Nicole mumbled and sat next to her roommate.

“Who all is here?” Waverly asked.

“Andrea’s parents, her brother and his girlfriend, and all three of her sisters and their husbands.” Willa said. “The children are here too. Can you believe it, there’s six of them.”

“I don’t know why anyone would ever want children, it ruins your life.” Bob said, voice full of disdain. “They’re loud and needy and so sloppy.”

“We prefer that it just be the two of us.” Willa said. “Traveling is much easier and we don’t have to focus on anyone else but each other.”

“Nicole, have you ever been out of the country?” Bobo asked.

“Uh, no, I haven’t.” Nicole said. “My family couldn’t afford much growing up.”

“Who couldn’t afford something?” Ward asked, as he made his way into the dining room. He paused, seeing Nicole and had to force himself not to frown.

“Daddy, hi.” Waverly said. “I uh… this is Nicole.”

“It’s… a pleasure.” Ward said, and sat down at the end of the table. “Dinner will be ready shortly, so just hold tight. Andrea and her family will be down soon.”

“Nicole here hasn’t ever been out of the country.” Willa told her father.

Ward looked at the redhead, surprised, “How is that possible?”

Nicole straightened up, “Just couldn’t afford it.”

“Oh, I see now.” Ward chuckled softly. “You’re a charity case.”

“Daddy!” Waverly gasped, shocked.

“Calm down, Waverly, there isn’t anything to be ashamed of, dear.” Ward said, waving a hand at her in dismissal. “We all need to do our part to help the less fortunate.”

“My family and I are doing just fine, thank you very much.” Nicole said, clenching her jaw as she looked at the older man. “We’ve worked hard for everything we’ve ever had in life and we’re damn proud of it. We may not have a lot of money but at least I know I’m loved by my family.”

Ward narrowed his eyes at the redhead, “No need to get offended, Natalie. It’s just become clear to me that Waverly is only with you because she feels sorry for you. Not because she has any real feelings for you.”

“I love Nicole.” Waverly said, pushing the truths from her statement into the deepest parts of her to be dealt with later. “She’s very successful and you should be happy for me. She’s only a sophomore and she’s the captain of the football team.”

“Where is Martha? I’m starving.” Ward said, ignoring his youngest daughter. He looked to his son-in-law. “Robert, I heard you’ve sold that office building in the big city. Hell of an accomplishment, son; I knew you’d be the one to get some poor sucker to buy it.”

Robert laughed, “It was truly very easy. Toss in a few tall tales and the asshole was practically on his knees, ready to do whatever I asked. Sold it for three times what it was worth.”

Ward slammed his hand down on the table, “That’s what I like to hear, boy!”

“I- will you excuse me?” Waverly didn’t wait for a reply and excused herself from the table; she just needed a minute to breathe.

Nicole tossed her napkin onto the table and followed after Waverly, concerned. She found the youngest Earp in the living room off to the side, “Wave, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

Waverly turned to look at Nicole, unshed tears in her eyes, “I just want him to care about me.”

“Oh, Waverly.” Nicole sighed sadly and pulled the brunette into her, holding her tightly against her chest. “I’m so sorry. I know he’s your father and I know I’ve only spent five minutes with him but he’s a dick.”

“If I’m happy, why does everything else matter?” Waverly asked, words somewhat muffled due to her face being buried in the redhead’s chest.

“I know it sounds stupid, but you have to act like it doesn’t bother you.” Nicole said. “Growing up, I had so many people tell me I wouldn’t make it as a football player because I was a girl. I almost quit what I loved because I let people get into my head. But after a while, I realized they didn’t matter and it was my life, if they didn’t like it, oh well.”

“You’re a really good football player too.” Waverly pulled away from Nicole and wiped at her eyes.

Nicole laughed, “You don’t even know what’s going on half the time.”

“Yeah, but you’re always passing that line to make a basket or whatever.”

“You really don’t do sports, do you?”

“Shut up.” Waverly said, a smile playing at her lips. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being you.” Waverly said.

Nicole looked away from the brunette, trying to hide her blush. “Uh, I- uh. You ready to head back in there or-?”

Waverly nodded and reached for Nicole’s hand, interlacing their fingers together. “You’re not ready to run yet?”

“What would be the fun in that?” Nicole asked, as she pulled Waverly back towards the dining room. “Come on, I’m feeling a little handsy at the moment and I wouldn’t want daddy dearest to miss a thing.”

“Nicole Haught, you _dog_.”

Nicole shrugged, “I’m not sorry about it.”

“Oh, but I think you should be.”

Waverly and Nicole stopped dead at the familiar voice, eyes growing wide.

“You thought Daddy was going to be a problem? You must’ve clearly forgotten about me, _baby girl_.”

Waverly turned towards the front door, heart beating nervously in her chest. “Wynonna, hi…”


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay guys, work has picked up so much lately and since I'm a supervisor I've not really had the time or energy to sit down and write. Please forgive me, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. I've got a super busy month coming up soon with work and Earp-A-Palooza and concerts so I might not be updating for a while but I'll try my best. Try to be patient with me. Much love.

“Sit down, the both of you.”

Waverly stared at her sister, a nervous look in her eyes, “I uh-”

“Sit, now.” Wynonna said, nodding towards the staircase.

Nicole nodded and sat down, her legs starting to bounce nervously; if Wynonna didn’t like them together, she would never have a real chance with Waverly. It didn’t matter if Ward or Willa didn’t like her because Waverly didn’t care, but Wynonna, she was everything to Waverly. “Wynonna-”

“I’ll handle you in just one minute, Haught Sauce.” Wynonna turned her attention on her little sister. “What the fuck, Wave? You’re in a relationship with one of the hottest people I’ve ever seen in my entire life and you didn’t think to tell me? I had to hear it from Willa, Waverly, _Willa_. Do you know how long I had to stay on the phone with her until she told me the news? Ten minutes, ten whole fucking minutes!”

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“You had no problem telling me you lost your virginity to Champ when you were sixteen and trust me, no one needed to know that.”

“Wynonna!” Waverly yelled, a blush forming on her cheeks at the mention of her ex; Nicole didn’t need to hear about one of the biggest regrets of her life.

Wynonna shrugged, “Oops.”

“I’m sorry, alright?” Waverly said softly. “It’s new and we just wanted it to be us for a while-”

“Okay, gross.” Wynonna scrunched her face up in disgust. “I don’t need to know about what you two do alone.”

“That’s- that’s not what I meant and you know it!” Waverly huffed, irritated at her sister’s antics. “I’m an adult and can make my own decisions.”

“I’m not saying I’m not happy for you, baby girl. Nicole isn’t Champ and that’s enough for me. Hell, if you came to me and said you were in a relationship with a cactus I’d be happy for you.” Wynonna said. “I always thought you had feelings for each other, glad to know I wasn’t seeing shit.”

“Girls, it’s dinnertime!” Ward called from the dining room. “I won’t ask you again to join us, you’re being rude!”

Wynonna rolled her eyes, “He does realize we’re not children anymore, right?”

“We’ll be fifty and he’ll still try to control our lives, you know that.”

Wynonna sighed, “I know, but I can only hope.”

“Why does it matter, you never listen to him.”

“From the looks of it, you don’t either anymore.” Wynonna said, motioning towards Nicole. “One question.”

“I’m not going to tell you about my sex life, Wynonna.”

“Oh, no, that’s for later.” Wynonna said, waving her little sister off. “What made you finally decide to be yourself around us and not care about Daddy?”

“Uh, Nicole, actually.” Waverly said, “She told me I shouldn’t hide myself just to make other people happy and she’s right.”

“I’m still going to be having that talk with her later.” Wynonna looked back at the redhead. “Hypothetically, if someone pointed a shotgun at you, how fast do you think you could run?”

Nicole’s eyes grew wide, “Excuse me?”

Wynonna laughed, “God, you’re so easy, Red. I’m gonna have so much fun while you guys are home.”

///

“They allow a girl on a football team?” Claire Warren, Andrea’s mother asked, as she sipped her wine. “That’s… not very lady like.”

“No, it’s not.” Nicole said, matter of fact. “But I don’t think that really matters when I’ve led my team to several championships.”

Claire shook her head and mumbled something to her husband, Henry, before she continued talking, “So, what do your parents do?”

“My dad is a manager at an auto shop, he helps open up new locations and hires employees.” Nicole said, “My mom teaches at my old high school.”

Henry nodded, “Well I guess there are people out there that do the jobs we are way too overqualified to do. Not everyone can run a billion-dollar company.”

“My mother has a PHD.” Nicole said, “She just teaches at the high school because it’s understaffed and she knows how important education is.”

“You do not need to defend anyone, Natalie, it’s okay.” Andrea said. “We just want to get to know who stole our little Waverly’s heart.”

“My name is Nicole and I suggest you get used to it.” Nicole said, clenching her fist against her thigh; she knew they would judge her but to know they thought less of her parents due to their careers really pissed her off. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Oh dear, I wish that were true.” Ward said, “I know what my little girl is up to and she’s only using you. Waverly may look sweet but I can assure you she is no angel.”

“It’s amazing how shitty some people can be towards their own children just because they disagree with them.” Nicole stood up; her nerves had disappeared and been replaced with n immediately dislike towards almost everyone at the table. As the seconds ticked by, she realized it wasn’t going to be very hard to piss off Waverly’s family because they hated every single part of her and she was going to use that to her advantage. “I’m going out for a smoke.”

“I’ll come with.” Waverly said, about to stand up.

“You don’t need to be around that stuff, Waverly, it isn’t good for you.” Willa said, a smile playing at her lips. “Stay here, tell us about your semester.”

“Why do you even care?” Waverly asked, irritated over the night’s events. “You never call to check up on me, you can’t even wish me a happy birthday.”

“I’m a very busy woman.”

“You sit at home all day ordering around your staff.” Wynonna said, with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t act like you do a damn thing else.”

“Girls, enough.” Ward said, eyes narrowed at his daughters. “You will not argue in front of Andrea’s family, they are guests in our home. Waverly, Wynonna, you know Willa is very busy and you should be nicer to her.”

Wynonna snorted out a laugh, “Oh my God.”

“I think it’s time for you to go to your room, Wynonna.” Ward said, shaking his head. “For once, I just wish you would act like an adult.”

“I’m sorry that I like to have fun.” Wynonna said, and stood up. “I hope you know that the only reason I come home is because of Waverly. If it wasn’t for her, none of you would ever see me again.”

“Thank you for dinner.” Doc said quickly and followed after Wynonna, who stormed out of the room.

“Excuse my daughter.” Ward sighed. “Ever since she threw her life away to travel the world, she’s been a different person. I promise you she wasn’t raised in a barn, although it may seem that way.”

Waverly shook her head and stood up, throwing her napkin onto her plate, “I don’t understand how you can be so mean.” She said, “You want us here and then you treat us like shit.”

“Please Waverly, not you too.” Ward said, “Haven’t we had enough of the tantrums tonight? You’re just jetlagged-”

“I’m going to check on Nicole and then I’m going to bed.”

“Can you ask Martha to bring us desert on your way?” Ward asked, “I have a huge meeting tomorrow in the city and I would hate to strain my voice trying to call for her.”

Waverly slapped a hand to her forehead, baffled, “Goodnight, daddy.”

///

“You just had to add smoking to the whole bad girl thing, didn’t you?” Waverly laughed as she sat next to Nicole who was sitting on the stoop.

“My dad’s fault.” Nicole said, blowing the smoke out into the cool night air. “Helps calm me down when I’m pissed.”

“Well I don’t care.” Waverly took the cigarette from Nicole’s hands, stomped it out and tossed it into the grass. “You don’t need to be a spokesperson on one of those commercials when you’re 45.”

“Did I take it too far tonight?”

Waverly shook her head, “You were perfect.”

“I know I don’t know them that well, but that entire family… let’s put it this way, if there was a legitimate purge, they would pay a shit ton of money just to beat and torture the less fortunate. That Claire woman, she’s-”

“A total bitch.” Wynonna finished for her, as she dropped down in between the couple. “I can handle daddy and Willa and all of their bullshit, it’s actually kinda fun getting them riled up. But that family, I would’ve never come home if I would’ve known they would all be here.”

“You guys act like you’ve never met them before.”

“We haven’t, well, not all of them.” Waverly said, “Daddy and Andrea eloped a couple of years ago and we all found out about it after the fact. I’ve only met Roger, Andrea’s little brother and Haley, their older sister, one time.”

“They’re all terrible people.” Wynonna said, “Even the little brats.”

“How many kids are here and why didn’t I see them?”

“Uh…” Waverly counted them off in her head. “There’s six of them.”

“You didn’t see them because the children eat in the kitchen when the adults are done. And before you say anything, I know, I know, it’s all so pilgrim-y.”

“Your serious?” Nicole asked, taken aback. “God, no offense, but your family literally sucks.”

“If you stick with my sister even after all of this, you really are the real deal.” Wynonna said, “Speaking of, Waverly, go away.”

“What?” Waverly asked, confused.

“Get outta here, scram, go do whatever it is that you.” Wynonna said, “It’s time for me to have a little chat with Red.”

“Absolutely not, Wynonna, it’s been a long day and we’re both tired.” Waverly said, “Can’t this wait… till like never.”

“I’ll tell Nicole all about that one time in preschool-”

Waverly shot up, her ears turning a shade of red, embarrassed by the unsaid memory. “Alright, alright, I’m going.”

Wynonna slapped her ass roughly, “That’s my girl.”

“If she pulls out Peacemaker, don’t freak out, she won’t actually shoot you with it.” Waverly said in way of apology before disappearing inside.

“Peacemaker, what?” Nicole asked, confused.

Wynonna waved her off, “So, did Waverly really think that I wouldn’t notice?”

Nicole tensed slightly, “What, uh, what do you mean?”

“I thought you guys had something goin’ on the last time I came to visit her.” Wynonna said, as she pulled a flask from her jacket. She took a sip and offered it to Nicole, but the redhead declined. “The way you two look at each other, it’s… disgusting, but anyone with eyes can see it.”

Nicole relaxed, relieved that their scheme hadn’t been figured out, “Oh-”

“I’ve known a lot of jocks in my day but I have a feeling your not like the rest.” Wynonna said, giving Nicole a once over. “You aren’t going to hurt her, are you?”

“I would never, ever, hurt Waverly. I love her, Wynonna, I really do. I know we’ve only known each other a couple of months but she’s everything to me.” Nicole said, surprised by the truth in her own words. She wasn’t just trying to get the older Earp on her side, to make Wynonna like her; she meant every single word she had said. Waverly was her entire world. “She’s kind and smart and funny even though she doesn’t mean to be. Do you know that when she gets really frustrated she curses in Latin? It’s the cutest thing.”

Wynonna made a face, “Okay, gross, I get it, you want to make babies with my little sister.”

Nicole laughed loudly at that, “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

Wynonna shrugged, “I wouldn’t wanna be any other way, Red.”

Nicole was quiet for a while, the two women just looking out onto the open field, “So, who’s Peacemaker?”

Wynonna silently unzipped her boot, revealing a gun, a smirk playing at her lips. “The only reason Champ Hardy didn’t get shot in the ass cheek is because he was thousands of miles away. Get what I’m sayin’, Haught?”

Nicole swallowed thickly, “Yep, uh huh, totally.”

“Good.” Wynonna said, “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

///

“Nicole, get up!” Waverly said, accidentally slamming the bedroom door against the wall, causing the dresser to shake. “Oops.”

Nicole peaked at the clock, mumbled several words under her breath and without a second thought, pulled the blankets over her head.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Waverly said, as she jerked the covers off the redhead. “It’s almost 9am and I want to show you the town.”

“It’s the first time in almost six months that I’ve not had to get up before God himself, so please, please, let me just have today.” Nicole begged, voice heavy with sleep.

“Marty made blueberry biscuits.”

“No two-a-days, no away game, no roommate doing yoga at an ungodly hou- ow!” Nicole cursed as she rubbed at her face; she glared at Waverly who held a pillow in her hands. “What the hell, Wave?”

“Great, you’re up!” Waverly tossed the pillow onto the bed, a devilish grin on her face.

Nicole sighed and sat up, running a hand through her hair, “Why do you hate me?”

“No one is here and I want to show you around.” Waverly said, “There’s so much of the property you haven’t seen and I thought while everyone was away, today would be the perfect time.”

“Everyone’s gone?” Nicole asked.

“Daddy has a meeting in the city and will be gone until tonight and Andrea is out shopping with her family.” Waverly said. “Doc and Wynonna are still here so technically we’re not alone but they definitely won’t be up before 3pm.”

“Waverly, is that you?” A woman, just a few years older than them, with bleach blonde hair asked, as she walked into the room. “I thought I heard your voice.”

“Sammy, hey.” Waverly said, internally groaning at seeing the housekeeper.

“Who is this cutie?” Sammy asked, not so subtly checking Nicole out. “I’m Samantha Henderson, but please do call me Sammy.”

Nicole waved at her, “Nicole Haught.”

“Haught?” Sammy raised an eyebrow in question, “Well the name certainly fits.”

“What can I help you with?” Waverly asked, impatient. “We’ve got plans.”

“I just heard we had a new face and I wanted to come and say hey, that’s all. No need to get your panties in a knot, Waverly.” Sammy said.

Nicole stood up and slipped a hand across Waverly’s lower back, pulling the brunette into her side. She wanted to make it apparent, right then and there that she was Waverly’s and no one else’s, even if it wasn’t real. “It was very nice to meet you, Samantha, but I would love to shower and grab some breakfast before spending the day with my girlfriend.”

Sammy’s eyes narrowed at the couple but she plastered on a huge smile, “If you ever need me to tidy up your room, day or night, don’t be afraid to come by room and ask. I wouldn’t have _any_problem at all losing sleep for you.”

“That’s nice. Have a great day.” Nicole said and slammed the door in her face; she turned to Waverly. “Are there really blueberry biscuits or did you just say that to me to get me up?”

Waverly stared at her with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open.

Nicole looked at her, a concerned look on her face, “What? What’s wrong?”

“You just slammed the door in Sammy’s face.”

Nicole nodded, a little confused, “Uh, yeah, I did. I don’t like her.”

Waverly looked at Nicole, shocked, “You don’t?”

“From her hair to her tan to her boobs, she’s all fake.” Nicole said with a shrug, like turning down Samantha Henderson wasn’t a big deal. “She’s got a look in her eyes, I don’t like her. She clearly doesn’t understand boundaries and she doesn’t respect you. No thank you.”

“Champ used to always check her out.” Waverly said, “Even though I was standing right beside him, he didn’t care. Any time I would bring a guy over, they would always ignore me for her and I felt like I wasn’t good enough.”

Nicole scoffed at that, “You’re more than enough, Waverly. Those guys, they clearly don’t understand what true beauty is. I would pick you over any girl, any day.”

Waverly’s stomach felt like it was full of butterflies and she knew that Nicole was only saying this because she was playing the part of being a perfect girlfriend but it was still one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. “Thank you.”

Nicole smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek, “Anything for you, Wave.”

///

Nicole gasped, taking in several gulps of air as she reached the top of the hill, “Oh my God. I hate it, I hate it so much.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “You run miles and miles a day, Nicole. You’re being very dramatic.”

Nicole turned and pointed to the mansion, barely the size of a car from where they were standing. “We came from all the way over there, Wave.”

Waverly shook her head and kept on walking, “Big baby, that’s what you are.”

“You’re telling me you used to climb this every single day?” Nicole asked, clearly amazed. “You’re like barely five feet tall, I bet you had to turn around as soon as you got here because it was already dark and you had to go home.”

Waverly glared up at her, “You’re an ass.”

“Yeah, but I’m a cute one.” Nicole smiled brightly, showing off her dimples.

“I used to come up here when I wanted everything to just stop.” Waverly said, as she sat down under the big oak tree that sat just off to the side on the top of the hill. “If it wasn’t Willa and Wynonna fighting, it was Daddy and Wynonna. All the time, day and night and I would escape here just so I could read peacefully. You’d think in a house that big you would have a place to just _be_but not at the Homestead. Martha was always cooking and Sammy was always in my room; her mom was the housekeeper at the time and she wouldn’t leave me alone. I finally had enough and started coming up here after school. I would stay until Wynonna came and got me for dinner.”

“It’s beautiful.” Nicole admitted, “You can see for miles and miles.”

“I know, that’s why I love it so much.” Waverly said, “There’s beauty in every direction. I could be me and not have to worry about anything, even if it was only for a few hours.”

“I had a treehouse I would go to.” Nicole said, as she sat down next to Waverly. “My brother is so fucking loud and I have a really hard time concentrating on my homework if it isn’t quiet. My parents couldn’t afford to send me off to college so I had to work my ass off to study and get good grades. Jake, like any normal brother, went out of his way to be a douche. And then there was Alex, who couldn’t tell her right foot from her left half the time, I couldn’t deal. So, one day, I disappeared into the woods behind my house and came across a worn-down tree house from the previous owners.”

“Oh, are you about to tell me you went all lumberjack and rebuilt it?”

“My dad helped, but pretty much.” Nicole said, “It was decked out, too. I actually stayed the night in it several times a week, it was that nice. I lost my virginity in there, too. God, I really loved that treehouse.”

“Is it not there anymore?” Waverly asked.

“It is but my parents moved houses when we all left, to downsize.” Nicole said, “I think I cried for like three hours when they told me they were moving.”

“You really are such a softy.” Waverly said, “You can take a hit from a three-hundred-pound football player but the second you see a puppy or a romcom, your sobbing like a toddler.”

Nicole glared at her, “Shut up.”

“It’s cute, how sensitive you are.” Waverly said, “You don’t care what people think about you. You like to have fun and you like what you like and you don’t give a damn. I’m so used to people pretending to be something they aren’t.”

“Life’s too short to give a shit about other people and what they think about you.” Nicole said, “If you don’t like me because of who I am or who I love or what I do, that’s fine. I’m not here to please anyone. At the end of the day, we all die and we all end up in the same place.”

“That turned a little dark, Nic.”

Nicole shook her head, “No, but I’m serious. It shouldn’t matter if someone has more money than you or that they like this or that, because when it all comes down to it, we’re all going to be in the same box, six feet under.”

“I think I want to become a tree actually-”

Nicole gave her a look, a small smile, “What I’m trying to say is, I don’t care what others think about me, I never really have. I’m me and I won’t ever apologize for that.”

“You never have to, Nic, not when you’re with me.”

///

“Waverly Earp as I live and breathe!”

Waverly crashed into the big, burly bar owner, a huge smile on her face as she hugged him tightly, “I’ve missed you so much.”

“My bar hasn’t been the same without my best bartender.” Shorty pulled away and looked over the brunette, “Getting enough rest at that fancy school of yours?”

“Eight hours a day.” Waverly said, “Most of the time.”

“Good.” Shorty said, as he stepped back behind the bar. “Sit, relax.”

“I’d like you to meet someone.” Waverly reached behind herself and once she successfully grabbed Nicole’s hand, pulled the redhead next to her. “This is Nicole, my girlfriend.”

“Nicole Haught, Ghost River’s quarterback.” Shorty said, matter of fact as he shook the football player’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Thirteen.”

Nicole looked at him, clearly surprised, “You know who I am?”

“You’re on the big screen ever Saturday that you play.” Shorty said. “A couple of the guys in town have a fantasy league goin’ on, and so it’s all football all the time during the on season.”

“She’s pretty great, isn’t she?”  
  


“She’s not just great, she’s a god damn beast on the field.” Shorty said, “Ghost River hasn’t had anyone like you in a long time. Your exactly what they’ve needed. Now, what can I get you ladies?”

“Can I have a water?” Waverly asked, as she sat down.

“A beer, anything is fine.” Nicole said. “Thanks.”

“I know damn well my own niece isn’t in my bar and hasn’t come to find me yet.” Gus said, as she walked out of the office, hands on her hips.

“It’s my bar, woman!” Shorty said, with a shake of his head as he dropped the drinks onto the bar.

“Legally, but you know damn well this place wouldn’t be standin’ if it wasn’t for me.” Gus said, as she pulled Waverly into a bone crushing hug. “How’s my favorite girl?”

Waverly smiled at her aunt, “I’m doing great, Gus.”

“Good.” Gus said, as she turned her attention to Nicole. “Who are you?”

“I’m Nicole, uh-”

“She’s my girlfriend.” Waverly said, as she interlaced their fingers together.

Gus nodded and looked to Waverly, “She treat you right?”  
  


“The best.” Waverly said, truthfully. “Always lookin’ out for me.”

“Good, good.” Gus said, “Why don’t you two come over for dinner tonight? I’ll make your favorite and we can catch up?”

“I’d love that.”

Gus smiled and waved to several customers who had just walked through the door, “Bring that sister of yours, too.”

“Sure, make plans without me, in _my _bar.”

Gus rolled her eyes, “Oh, shut your trap, you can come too.”

///

“Thank you, for today.” Nicole said, as she walked Waverly to her room later that night. “I feel like I got to know you a little bit more.”  
  


“You don’t think my family is too crazy?”

“You know, it’s funny, Wynonna threatened to shoot me last night if I didn’t treat you right-”

“She _what_!”

Nicole laughed and shook her head, “No, she didn’t like point it at me or anything, the context was just there. Anyways, even though she threatened me with a shot in the ass, she doesn’t scare me as much as Gus. That woman could kill me and no one would ever find my body, like, ever.”

“She’s very protective of Wynonna and I.”

“Why didn’t she invite Willa?” Nicole asked, “I mean, I was glad she wasn’t there…”

“Gus thinks she’s a spoiled brat and will gladly say so.” Waverly said, through a yawn; they had had a really long day and she was exhausted. “They’ve never gotten along.”

“I can see why.” Nicole said, as she glanced at her watch; it was almost 2AM. Even though dinner with Gus had ended hours ago, they had ended up staying and talking with Waverly’s aunt half the night. “We should probably go to bed.”

Waverly sighed, not wanting her perfect night with Nicole to end, “I guess you’re right. I’m sorry you have to sleep upstairs.”

“Stop apologizing.” Nicole said, “I get it.”

Waverly nodded and pushed her bedroom door open, “Goodnight, Nicole.”

Nicole smiled at the brunette, “Night Wave, sweat dreams.”

“I promise I’ll let you sleep in tomorrow.”

“That’s okay.” Nicole said, “Besides, it wasn’t so bad, not when I got to spend the entire day with you.”

“You’re sweet.” Waverly said, too tired to really comprehend what Nicole had just said. “Go to bed.”

“Yes ma’am.” Nicole said, and bid Waverly a goodnight once more before heading up to her own room.


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly Wayhaught, super filler. Breakfast, a cute old lady, a drive in movie and a night that ends on a rooftop.

“Does Marty cook like this every morning?” Nicole asked, amazed as she sat down at the kitchen table. The kitchen counters were full of all sorts of breakfast foods, some of which Nicole had never even heard of before.

“Only sometimes.” Wynonna said, as she grabbed a pancake and sat down across from the redhead. “Daddy is usually gone in the mornings and Andrea only eats like once a year, so this usually happens when we’re in town.”

“I hope you guys are hungry.” Martha said, as she started to stack up their plates with an assortment of food. “I made enough for everyone.”

“You made enough for a small army.” Wynonna corrected as she shoved her mouth full of bacon. “But you bet your ass I’m not complaining.”

Martha swatted Wynonna’s wrist with a spatula, “Watch your mouth in my kitchen.”

Wynonna rolled her eyes, “Yes ma’am.”

“Henry, would you like a bit of everything?” Martha asked, although the question was rhetorical; the plate was overflowing with food already.

“Uh, yes, please.” Doc said, and thanked her when she sat the plate down in front of him. “Thanks Marty.”

“Anytime, Cowboy.” Martha went back to filling up the last two plates, “Waverly told me how much you love blueberry biscuits, so I made another fresh batch this morning, Nicole, I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all.” Nicole said, “But you didn’t have to do that.”

“Oh, hush.” Martha said, waving her off. “It’s my kitchen and I’ll do what I want.”

“How come you never make anything that I want?” Wynonna asked, a frown on her face.

Martha glared at the older Earp, “I will give you Brussel Sprouts for every meal until you leave.”

Wynonna’s eyes narrowed, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I would.” Martha said, as she dropped the remaining dishes in front of Waverly and Nicole. “Eat up while it’s still hot.”

“So, Nicole, how are you liking it here so far?” Doc asked, once they settled into their breakfasts.

“It’s definitely new to me.” Nicole admitted, “It’s been four days and I still get lost going to the bathroom but otherwise I don’t mind it.”

Waverly laughed, “You do not get lost!”

Nicole nodded, a small blush forming on her cheeks in embarrassment, “I’ve always grown up with one bathroom and this house has like sixteen.”

“I think that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.” Waverly said, unable to keep the smile from her lips; Nicole was adorable.

“Shut up.” Nicole took a sip of her coffee.

“How did you get into football?” Doc asked.

“My grandpa.” Nicole said, “He loved football so much. When I was growing up, we would go to a game every Sunday together, just the two of us. At first, I only watched it because of him but once I truly understood the game, I realized it was actually pretty fun. I started to train and practice with a few guys in my neighborhood and when I was in seventh grade, I tried out for my middle school team. Next thing I know, I’m getting a scholarship to Ghost River.”

“I’m sure he’s very proud of you.” Doc said, matter of fact. “I’ve seen you play and you’re damn good at it.”

“Thank you.” Nicole said, “I hope he’s proud, but I wouldn’t know; he passed away a few years ago from a heart attack.”

Waverly frowned at that and rested her hand on Nicole’s knee, “I’m sorry, Nic.”

Nicole gave her a smile, “It’s okay. I might not have him here with me in person but he’s here with me in spirit. Thirteen was his favorite number, and when I had the option to choose my jersey number, I knew it had to be thirteen. Every game I play, he’s right there with me.”

“We’ve never had grandparents.” Wynonna said, “I’m sure it was nice.”

“My mom’s parents were killed in a car accident and my grandma on my dad’s side died of cancer when I was really little, so my grandpa was all I had.” Nicole said, “I was really lucky to have him for the time that I did.”

“You know, for someone who looks as badass as you, you’re a total softy.” Wynonna said, after a moment.

“See, I told you!” Waverly said to Nicole, “It’s so obvious!”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

///

{Chrissy – 11:06AM} So, how are things with the quarterback? You tell her you’re in love with her yet?

{Waverly – 11:27AM} It’s only been a couple of days and I think I’m starting to regret this…

{Jeremy – 11:28AM} What? No!

{Chrissy – 11:31AM} What happened?

{Waverly – 11:34AM} Everything is fine, it’s more than fine. Nicole is perfect. She’s playing the part very well.

{Waverly – 11:35AM} Maybe a little too well.

{Jeremy – 11:43AM} Details, please!

{Chrissy – 11:44AM} Like, right now!

{Waverly – 11:45AM} We’ve only been here a couple of days and she fits in so well here. Most of the staff loves her, she’s gotten so close with Wynonna and Doc. Anytime Daddy says something about me or us, she defends me so fast. I don’t know if I’ll be able to spend the rest of break with her and not tell her how I feel.

{Jeremy – 11:51AM} Anyone with eyes can see that she has feelings for you, Waverly, I think you should go for it.

{Chrissy – 11:59AM} Yeah, where’s the Waverly I’ve known since birth, huh? She would’ve said fuck it and told Nicole already.

{Waverly – 12:04PM} This is different.

{Waverly – 12:05PM: Gotta go, Nicole and I are going shopping.

{Chrissy – 12:07PM} I’ll see you Friday.

{Chrissy – 12:08PM} And don’t forget to breathe, okay? It’ll all work out.

Waverly sighed and dropped her phone onto her bed, running a hand through her hair. “Get it together, Earp.”

“Since when do you talk to yourself?” Wynonna asked, as she walked into the room, a leftover muffin from breakfast in her hand. She took a bite and sat down on Waverly’s desk. “I thought I was the crazy one.”

“What?” Waverly shook her head, waving her off. “It’s- it’s nothing, Nonna.”

“One, bullshit.” Wynonna wiped her hands on her jeans. “Two, is it Haught? Because if she hurt you-”

“Nicole is perfect!” Waverly said, “I just… I’m still getting used to this, ya know? I never picked the best of guys growing up and Nicole, she’s- she’s more than I could’ve ever asked for.”

“Believe me, I know.” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “That girl looks at you like you hung the moon and all the god damn stars.”

“No, she doesn’t.” Waverly said, refusing to believe her.

“I know it’s scary, having someone care for you with no other intentions other than to make you happy.” Wynonna sighed, knowing it was time for the big sister talk. “Baby Girl, Nicole’s the real deal. I see it in the way she looks at you, how she talks about you; she’s head over heels in love with you and I don’t think she would ever leave you, even if you wanted her to.”

“I always think that and then…”

“She’s not Champ, or any of those other rodeo clowns you hooked up with in high school.” Wynonna said, “I may not be the best judge of character but Nicole’s good, truly good. I’m glad you’re happy, Wave.”

Waverly smiled at her sister, “You’re the best.”

Wynonna shrugged, “Damn right I am. Now, go spend a day in town with your girl and make sure to buy me the greatest Christmas present in the world, okay? I don’t give pep talks for free, ya know, even if you are my little sister.”

///

“Is there a place we can stop for some coffee and maybe a donut?” Nicole asked, a few hours into their shopping.

“You keep eating the way you do and you’re going to have a horrible time getting back into shape when we get back to school.” Waverly said.

Nicole waved her off, “I’ll be fine. Besides, I can’t help that Marty cooks the best food, it would be rude if I didn’t try it all.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “Mhm, sure.”

“So, coffee?” Nicole asked again.

“Come on, there’s a bakery down the street.” Waverly said, pulling the redhead towards said shop. “Mrs. Winters runs it with her nieces and she makes the best donuts.”

“Waverly, is that you?”

Waverly sighed at the familiar voice and turned to see her ex-boyfriend jogging across the street to catch up with her, “Hey Champ.”

“I’ve not seen you lately, why didn’t you call me?” Champ asked, completely ignoring Nicole, who was standing quietly next to Waverly.

“Uh, we’re not together anymore?” Waverly said, confused.

Champ laughed, “Oh baby, quick messin’ around, you always come back to me. I know you went a little crazy last time but it wasn’t my fault.”

“I acted crazy?” Waverly rolled her eyes, “You were in bed with another woman; what makes you think I would ever take you back?”

“I…” Champ paused, his attention on Nicole. “Who are you? Can’t you see that I’m trying to have a conversation with my girl?”

“I’m Nicole Haught.” Nicole introduced herself as she stepped in front of Waverly. “I’m Waverly’s girlfriend.”  
  


Champ’s eyes widened, “What? No way! Waverly wouldn’t date a fa-”

“James Hardy, don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Waverly said, as she interlaced her fingers with Nicole’s. “Nicole is my girlfriend.”

“You’re confused, you just haven’t seen me for a while.” Champ said. “If you come back to my place, you’ll remember that I’m what you want.”

“She said no.” Nicole said, jaw clenched. “Back off.”

Champ glared up at her, “But-”

“She’s not interested in you, Chump.” Nicole said, “She’s my girl, not yours.”

Waverly’s heart skipped at Nicole’s claim and she was unable to keep the smile off her face, “Sorry, but we’ve gotta go.”

“Wave, baby, I’m sorry!” Champ reached out for her but decided against it when Nicole took a step towards him. “Come on, please! I’m sorry!”

“I’ll see you around, Champ.” Waverly said, and pulled Nicole back towards the bakery with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know what I ever saw in him.”

“Limited options? Stupidity?” Nicole laughed loudly as Waverly slapped her stomach, clearly offended. “I’m kidding, I know it’s only because you hadn’t met me yet.”

“Oh, look, here we are!” Waverly said, relieved at the fact that they were at their destination and she wouldn’t have to reply to the quarterback.

Nicole pulled open the door and followed in after Waverly, eyes wide as she took in the small bakery; it was decked out from floor to ceiling in Christmas decorations. “Holy shit.”

“It’s awesome, isn’t it?” Waverly said as she waved hello to Jenna, Mrs. Winters youngest niece. “I used to come here every day before school.”

“Waverly Earp!” Theo Winters greeted as she came out of her office, a huge smile on her face. “I thought I saw you on the camera.”

“Yep, it’s me!” Waverly said, “You know I couldn’t come home and miss out on my favorite place in the entire world.”

Theo hugged Waverly, “You flatter me.”

“I’m only being honest.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “How are you?”

“I’m doing just fine, thank you. What about yourself?” Theo asked as she made her way back behind the counter.

“I’m great, really great actually.”

“I’m glad to hear that, dear.” Theo nodded to Nicole, “Who’s this cutie?”

Nicole cleared her throat and held out her hand, “I’m Nicole Haught. I’m uh, Waverly’s-”

“Girlfriend.” Waverly answered for her, knowing Nicole didn’t want to out her without her permission.

“Well Nicole Haught, welcome to my bakery. Pick whatever you want, it’s on the house.” Theo said. “If it’s not on the shelf, I’ll be happy to make it.”

Nicole waved her off, “You don’t have to do that. I’ll take a donut and a coffee.”

“Simple, I like it.” Theo said and got to work. “Waverly, same thing as always?”

“And a scone for Wynonna, please.” Waverly said. “Thank you.”

Theo gathered up everything and bagged it all up into a nice box; she handed the cup of coffee to Nicole, “What’re you ladies doing in town today?”

“We’re taking care of some last-minute Christmas shopping and Nicole wanted to see the town.” Waverly said.

“Well, I’m glad you stopped by here, it’s always lovely to see you.” Theo said, “You’ve always been my favorite customer.”

Waverly smiled brightly, “I try my best.”

“I hate to cut this short but if we don’t finish our errands we may never get to the movie on time.” Nicole said as she checked her phone.

Waverly looked at the clock on the wall and cursed at the time; she looked to the bakery owner. “I know you go to Toronto for Christmas but you’ll be back before I head back to school, right?”

Theo nodded, “Sure will!”

“Great.” Waverly said, as she started for the door. “Thanks for the treats, Theo!”

“Yeah, thanks again!”

“Be safe and have fun you two!”

///

Nicole straightened out the last of the blankets and smiled triumphantly, “There, all done.”

“You sure or should I wait here for a little bit longer?” Waverly asked from the driver’s side of Wynonna’s truck. “You’ve only taken ten minutes too long!”  
  


“You try setting this shit up while the wind is blowing all over the place.” Nicole said as she hopped out of the bed of the truck. “I was fine with a normal theater but you’re the one who insisted we go to a drive-in.”

“You’re excited, don’t even lie.” Waverly said as she got out of the truck. “I’m going to get snacks, what do you want?”

“Nachos and a coke, please.” Nicole said and handed Waverly a fifty as she was about to pass her. “Oh, and if they have those little sour patch kids!”

“Watermelon or regular?”

“Watermelon, duh.” Nicole said, as she grabbed her extra jacket from inside the truck. She pulled it onto her body and climbed back into the bed of the truck. “You sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

Waverly shook her head, “I’ll be right back.”

Ten minutes later, Waverly handed Nicole their drinks and snacks and climbed into the truck, plopping down next to the redhead. She immediately grabbed for the blankets and pulled them over her body, sighing happily as she started to warm up. “They didn’t have the watermelon ones so I got you nerds instead, the pink ones.”

“Thank you, Wave.” Nicole said, as she sifted through the snacks. “Is that enough blankets for you? I know you get really cold and you can have my jacket if you want it…”

“It’s perfect.” Waverly said, as she scooped up a handful of popcorn.

“This is one of my favorite movies of all time.” Nicole admitted as the trailers started to play on the big screen. “I’ve probably seen it over a hundred times.”

“The Polar Express?”

Nicole nodded, “It’s a classic. I know a lot of people don’t think it’s good but it’s funny and adorable and I don’t know, I’ve just always loved it.”

“I watch it every Christmas Eve.” Waverly said, “Wynonna hates it but she always watches it with me, even if she falls asleep halfway through it.”

“Well, if she doesn’t mind, maybe I can take her place this year?”

Waverly nodded, “I think she’ll be okay.”

“Good.” Nicole cleared her throat, suddenly nervous. “That’s… that’s good.”

Waverly smiled and wrapped the blankets tighter around her small frame, “I know I keep saying this, but thank you for coming here.”

“Hey, I’ll do this every year if you need me to because I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again without one of Theo’s donuts.”

“Well I wouldn’t be opposed…”

Nicole looked down at Waverly, a dopey grin on her face, “Yeah?”

Waverly went to speak but the lights throughout the drive-thru shut off and the movie started to play. She shivered from the cold, the blankets doing little to help in the winter weather; maybe a movie outside wasn’t the best idea for someone who is always cold.

“Wave, come here.” Nicole whispered as she opened her arms.

Waverly scooted closer to the redhead, sighing happily when strong arms wrapped around her body, warming her instantly. “Thanks.”

“Better?” Nicole asked, as she wrapped her blankets over the both of them.

“Much.” Waverly said, as she rested her head against Nicole’s chest.

Nicole dropped her chin onto Waverly’s head, trying to get comfortable. Even though Waverly seemed to be paying attention to the movie, Nicole hoped and prayed that the brunette couldn’t feel how hard her heart was beating in her chest; she knew she wouldn’t be able to explain it.

///

“I had a lot of fun today.” Nicole said, as she lingered outside her bedroom. “Thanks for showing me the town, Wave.”

“I know it’s not much but it’s home.” Waverly said. “Thank you for the movie… and for keeping me warm.”

Nicole looked down at her shoes, trying to hide her smile, “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you had fun.”

“I uh… will you come with me?” Waverly asked.

Nicole nodded without a second thought, “Whatever you want.”

Waverly grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs until they were at the top of the mansion, “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”

“I went skydiving for my 18th birthday, so no.” Nicole said proudly. “Why?”

“Wait, really?” Waverly asked, amazed. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“Maybe I’ll take you some time?” Nicole suggested.

“You would?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Nicole asked. “I’ll take you this summer, if you want.”

Waverly squealed, “No one has ever wanted to go with me and I didn’t want to do it alone because the thought of it is kind of scary but like- you’re serious?”

“Of course I am.” Nicole said. “You just tell me when. So, why are we all the way up here? There’s like… nothing around.”

“We’re going on the roof.” Waverly opened the only door on the floor and nodded towards the final set of stairs. “I just… I don’t want this night to end just yet.”

“I uh… I don’t want it to end either.” Nicole said, “Lead the way, little lady.”

Waverly rolled her eyes fondly at the football player, “Dork.”

Nicole winked at her, “You love it.”

Waverly shook her head, trying to hide her blush and took off up the narrow staircase. She stepped out onto the roof a couple of seconds later, “Here we are.”

“Holy crap.” Nicole said as she took in the view. “It’s so nice up here.”

“Daddy used to throw rooftop parties up here every weekend.” Waverly said as she sat down. “I’ve not been up here in years.”

“It’s beautiful.” Nicole said. “I think I like it better than the hill.”

“It’s too close to home.” Waverly smiled at Nicole as she sat next to her. “Besides, this was Willa’s spot. Wynonna and I weren’t allowed anywhere near here if she was around, so we just found our own spots.”

“She’s a bitch, no offense.”

“None taken.” Waverly said. “I know she’s my sister but we’ve never been close. She’s never liked me and I’m not sure why.”

“She’s an idiot then because you’re the greatest person I know.”

“No one’s around, Nic, you can drop the act.” Waverly joked.

“I’m being serious, Waverly.” Nicole said. “You’re the kindest person I’ve ever met. You’re funny and smart and you always think about other people; I wish you could see what I see in you.”

“I… thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, I’m only being honest.” Nicole said, “You deserve the world and I hope one day someone can give that to you.”

_“You give me the world and you don’t even know it.” _Waverly thought to herself sadly. Nicole was everything she ever wanted in life but she knew it wasn’t meant to be. Nicole was perfect and although she played her part well, she definitely would never see Waverly as anything more than a friend.

“Hey, you okay?” Nicole shook Waverly’s shoulder softly. “You kinda zoned out on me for a minute.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Waverly said. “Just tired.”

“You can go to bed if you want.” Nicole said, “It has been a long day.”

Waverly shook her head, “No, no, it’s fine.”

“You sure?” Nicole asked, unsure.

“Positive.”

Nicole nodded and leaned back on her hands to get a better look at the night sky. “I know you didn’t have the best life here growing up but this place still has one hell of a view.”

“San Diego not that great?” Waverly asked.

“No, it’s wonderful, actually.” Nicole said. “There’s so much to do and everyone is accepting and it’s where I fell in love with football but there’s just so many buildings around. I’ve not seen the stars like this in years.”

“You’re such a dork.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “Just because I’m not like every jock you’ve ever known you think I’m a dork?”

“Maybe...”

Nicole elbowed Waverly gently in the ribs, “I’m hurt, Waverly Earp. Out of everyone, I never thought you’d be the one to bully me.”

Waverly couldn’t help but laugh, “God, you’re adorable.”

“I… you really think so?” Nicole asked, a little taken aback by what Waverly just said.

Waverly’s eyes grew slightly wide when she realized she had said that out loud., “Well I do have eyes, Nicole. I- uh, I think you’re beautiful.”

“No one’s ever called me that before.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

Nicole shook her head, “I’ve been told I’m attractive and I’ve had a few drunk girls say some pretty vulgar things but that’s all. I’m the person everyone wants to say they’ve slept with or dated just so it improves their status. Outside of Shae Pressman, I’ve never had a real relationship and even that was a joke.”

“Shae was an idiot and everyone knows that.” Waverly rolled her eyes. “She was mean and cruel and always tore you down for no reason at all. You’re better off without her.”

“I know it’s stupid but I don’t think I’m meant to be in a relationship.” Nicole said. “Any time I think I’m close, something always happens.”

“You’re great, Nicole. I wasn’t lying the other day when I said anyone would be lucky to be in a relationship with you. You’re funny and caring and you always know how to make my day.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “You’ll… you’ll find the one, I just know it.”

“_I wish it were you_.” Nicole thought lamely to herself. “Uh… we should probably get to bed, yeah? It’s getting really late.”

Waverly scrunched her eyebrows, confused by Nicole’s abrupt end to their conversation. “Oh, yeah, sure.”

Nicole and Waverly made their way back down the stairs and to Nicole’s room. “Thanks again for today.”

“You never have to thank me, Nicky.” Waverly said. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

“I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Bright and early.”

Nicole groaned, “No earlier than nine!”

“You’ll be fine.” Waverly promised as she pressed a kiss to Nicole’s cheek. “Goodnight.”

“Night Waves, sweet dreams.”

///

Waverly rolled back and forth, unable to sleep as the hours passed. The brunette has been home for several days and although she’s used to her childhood bedroom she can’t get comfortable enough to fall asleep. Part of her knows it’s because she’s back home but the other part of her knows that it’s because Nicole isn’t several feet away from her like she has been the last several months. 

“Dang it!” Waverly sighed and tossed the covers off of her body, irritated at the lack of sleep. She wrapped a spare blanket around her shoulders and slipped out of her bedroom and up to the staffing floor. She stood still for a moment, making sure no one else was around before carefully making her way into Nicole’s temporary room.

Nicole, to Waverly’s surprise, was wide awake and watching something on her laptop. “Wave, you okay?”

“I… I’m sorry to bother you.” Waverly said sheepishly. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“You can hang out in here if you want.” Nicole said, as she scooted over to one side of the bed to give Waverly some room. “I’m just watching a movie.”

“I thought you were tired.” Waverly asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

Nicole shrugged, “Uh, second wind?”

“Mhm, sure.” Waverly climbed into the bed and immediately pulled the covers over her body. “What’re you watching?”

“The new Grinch movie.” Nicole admitted. “It’s kinda sorta really cute.”

“You promised me we we’re going to watch that together!”

“You’re here now?”

“Such an asshole.” Waverly said as she grabbed the computer and restarted the movie. “I cannot believe you!”

“I’m sorry, it’s just been in my queue for over a month and I couldn’t take it anymore!” Nicole apologized.

Waverly laid back against the headboard, “Well now you have to restart it.”

“Are you really upset with me?” Nicole asked, as the beginning credits began.

“Only a little bit.” Waverly said. “But I’ll forgive you.”

Nicole nodded and grabbed a handful of snacks from out of the nightstand, “Peace offering?”

Waverly looked at the pile of goodies and shook her head, “You’re a literal child.”

“I told you, it’s my off month, let me live my life.”

Waverly rolled her eyes and grabbed a Snickers, “Just don’t come crying to me when you’re dying on your first day back.”


	6. VI

“Good morning, baby!” Waverly greeted Nicole with a kiss on the cheek several days later as she sat down next to the redhead at the kitchen table. She waved to her father who was at the counter, reading the morning paper. “Hey Daddy.”

Ward sighed and looked to his daughter, unamused with her affection towards Nicole, “Waverly.”

Waverly looked to Nicole, “How’d you sleep?”

“I slept okay but it’s never the same without you.” Nicole played along; she wrapped her arm around Waverly’s waist. “I miss you at night.”

Waverly curled into Nicole’s side, “I miss you, too.”

“Nicole, do you have a proper outfit for our party this Friday?” Ward asked, interrupting them. Over the last few days, the couple had upped their affection around him and it was driving him insane; he couldn’t stand it. “Or do I need Maxwell to take you into town? I have a lot of guests coming and I need to make sure you’re well prepared.”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Nicole said. “Waverly helped me pack before we left so I’m sure I have something that will fit the occasion.”

“Yes, well, alright.” Ward said. “I hope so.”

“She’s got the cutest outfit.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “We match perfectly.”

“Waverly…”

Waverly waved him off, “It’ll be okay, Daddy, don’t worry.”

“I have busy to take care of.” Ward tossed the paper into the trashcan, no longer interested in reading it. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

Nicole gave the older man a wave, “See you later!”

Ward gave a tense smile and left the room.

Waverly waited until she knew he was out of earshot before she spoke again, “After this trip, I won’t be surprised if he removes me from his will.”

“You really think he would do something like that?” Nicole asked as she dropped her hand back into her lap.

“Without a doubt.” Waverly said, “It’s one thing to let my family know, it’s another thing entirely to show up to the biggest party of the year with a girl on my arm. He’d much rather me be an unwed mother, believe me.”

Nicole shook her head, still unable to fully understand how her father saw certain things, “That’s stupid, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Waverly said, “I’m happy and I won’t change for him.”

“I’m proud of you, for being yourself.” Nicole said. “I know it’s not easy.”

Waverly shrugged, “I’ll never make him happy, so what’s the point? Besides, he’s jealous that we’re going to be the talk of the town when you show up in that cute outfit of yours.”

Nicole nodded in agreement, “Well, I do look really good in blue.”

“Cocky, my kind of gal.” Wynonna said as she walked into the room and collapsed in a chair across from them. “So, what’re you two lovebirds up to today?”

“I’m wrapping a few presents but that’s all. Why?”

“Great.” Wynonna said, as she grabbed a biscuit from a basket on the table. “You two are joining me at Shorty’s tonight.”

“I’m not going to be your DD.” Waverly said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wynonna waved her off, “No, no, of course not, baby girl. Let’s get the gang back together, yeah? Like old times.”

“The last time we got the ‘gang’ back together you almost got arrested.” Waverly pointed out.

  
“Oh, it’ll be fine.” Wynonna said. “I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Waverly sighed, “Only if Nicole’s okay with it?”

“What do you say, Red?” Wynonna asked. “I’m sure you need a drink- or twelve after dealing with Daddy all week.”

“I’m down.” Nicole shrugged, “What else do we have to do?”

Wynonna pumped her fist in the air, “That’s my girl!”

///

“Waverly, Champ will be here Friday.” Ward said, as they finished up their desert later that evening. “I heard you spoke to him in town the other day.”

“Yep.”

“You must be excited to see him.” Andrea said, as she took a sip of her wine. “He’s a very handsome young man.”

“He’s a shit ticket.” Waverly mumbled under her breath.

“What was that, dear?” Andrea asked. “You need to speak up.”

“Champ is an asshole.” Waverly said, loud enough so everyone could hear. “He slept with other women while we we’re together and treated me like crap. I’m with Nicole now and everyone needs to accept it; I’ve been here for over a week, let it go.”

“Waverly, apology to Andrea right now.”

“No.” Waverly said. “I’m sick and tired of you disrespecting my relationship because you disagree with it. I’m not harming anyone and I’m with someone who loves me and that should be enough.”

“All I was trying to say-”

“All _you’re_ doing is ignoring your daughter and her feelings because it doesn’t fit into what you expect of her.” Nicole spoke up.

“This is a family matter, you have no idea what my daughter wants.” Ward said. “You’ve brainwashed her with your filth.”

Nicole laughed, unapologetic, “God, if you really believe that, you’re a sad person.”

Ward slammed his fist onto the table, “You come into my home and disrespect me-”

“I’m not going to sit here and have you disrespect my girlfriend while I’m sitting right here.” Nicole said. “She’s your daughter and this is who she is, the only one who has a problem with it is you.”

“It’s unnatural!” Claire said. “I mean, you can never have children-”

Nicole ran a hand down her face; something was brought up every night at dinner and no matter what she did, these people never understood. “That’s a false statement. There’s IVF, adoption, surrogacy. I mean, who do you think adopts the unwanted children whose parents didn’t want them or couldn’t take care of them? Just because I’m a lesbian and in a relationship with a woman doesn’t make me any less capable of being a parent.”

“But your children will be made fun of!” Claire tried to argue. “If you really love Waverly like you say you do, why would you ever want her to live this life?”

“It’s a normal life.” Waverly said, “As normal as your relationship.”

Henry laughed, “Not in the slightest.”

“You don’t have to understand it, no one is asking you to.” Nicole said. “But I’ve been here for eight days and all you do is bash our relationship. We’re adults and we aren’t harming anyone, so, just, leave it be.”

Claire shook her head, “I’ve never been spoken to so rudely in my life.”

“Look lady, I’ve dealt with people like you all throughout my life and you’re not going to make me feel guilty or apologize for sticking up for myself.” Nicole said. “You don’t have to like me but you’re going to respect me.”

“I’m going to bed.” Ward scrapped his chair loudly against the floor and stood up. “Waverly, I would like to speak with you first thing in the morning, please.”

“I’m meeting Gus for breakfast.”

“Then I suggest you get up earlier.” Ward said, “Andrea, come on, dear.”

Andrea downed the rest of her wine, excused herself with a glare towards Nicole and followed after her husband.

“I think Ward has the best idea.” Claire said, standing up. “I refuse to sit here any longer and be spoken to in such a manner.”

“Goodnight!” Nicole said, with a half-assed wave.

“Waverly, I know what you’re doing and I’m ashamed that you’re my sister.” Willa said. “Daddy has given us everything and all you want to do is embarrass him. Why do you want to hurt this family? What did we ever do to you?”

“Willa, please, shut the fuck up.” Wynonna said. “No one cares about your opinion.”

Willa huffed and stood up, “I won’t let you bring us down, do you understand me? Play your games and have your fun but you’ll get what’s coming to you.”

Nicole stood up, jaw clenched. “Is that a threat?”  
  


“It’s whatever you want it to be.” Willa said and stormed out of the room.

“Well, uh, that was an eventful dinner.” Bobo poured himself another glass of wine. “You know, I really love this family...”

“Goodnight, Bobo!” Waverly and Wynonna said simultaneously.

“Alright, alright, I get the message.” Bobo grabbed his drink and left the room, bidding everyone a good night.

“He is a strange man.” Doc noted, “I don’t think I’ll ever quite understand him.”

“Let’s go, I need more whiskey.” Wynonna started towards the kitchen; she paused to look at her sister and Nicole. “Ten o’clock, be ready.”

“Says the one who is always late.”

Wynonna waved her off, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, a smile playing at her lips, “Mhm, sure.”

///

“Did I take it too far tonight?” Nicole asked as they made their way into Waverly’s bedroom. “I want to apologize but then it wouldn’t be sincere.”

“Hey, no, you were perfect.” Waverly said. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, they’re assholes.” Nicole said. “It’s been over a week, you think they would’ve said all they needed to say by now.”

Waverly sat down on the edge of her bed, “One could dream.”

“I just don’t like how they treat you.” Nicole admitted. “You’re his daughter and if you’re happy, I don’t know, I just hate it. God, and Andrea’s parents? I’ve never hated two people so much in my entire life.”

“They’re horrible, aren’t they?” Waverly agreed.

Nicole sat next to Waverly, “The absolute worst.”

Waverly dropped her head onto Nicole’s shoulder, “Do you think we should up the affection tomorrow?”

“I think your father would have a heart attack.” Nicole said. “If he found out you spend your nights in my room I think he would kill me before I ever got the chance to go back home.”

“Probably.” Waverly said. “But you have to admit, the sneaking around is kind of fun, isn’t it?”

“I feel like I’m sixteen again.” Nicole said. “My brother caught Shae sneaking into my room and blackmailed me for over a month; turns out my parents knew the entire time.”

“Oh my God.” Waverly laughed. “Champ got drunk once and tried to sneak into the house, Jackson made him cry.”

“I would’ve paid to see that.” Nicole said. “I can’t wait to screw with him at the party, it might be my favorite part of the trip.”

“He’s an ass when he’s drunk, just so you know.”

Nicole shrugged, “I can handle him.”

“You sure you’re okay with Shorty’s tonight?”

“What else do we have to do?” Nicole said. “Do you not want to go?”

“Wynonna just gets a little rowdy and she really, _really_ likes you.” Waverly said. “Don’t challenge her to any drinking games, she doesn’t need to lose any more money.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

///

“You didn’t invite Kyle.” Waverly ran a hand through her hair, “Please, please tell me you didn’t invite him.”

“What? He’s fun to drink with.” Wynonna said. “If he tries to grab your ass again just show him Haught Sauce and I’m sure he’ll back off.”

“Someone grabbed your ass?” Nicole asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

“He graduated with Wynonna.” Waverly said. “He gets a little handsy when he’s drunk but he’s harmless.”

“That doesn’t matter, that doesn’t give him the right to put his hands on you.” Nicole said, her grip tightening around Waverly’s waist a bit.

Waverly felt a warmth in her belly at the protectiveness of Nicole, “I’m sure he won’t try anything tonight, knowing you’re with me.”

“Waverly, you’re here!”

“Kyle, hey.” Waverly smiled at the former hockey player, “Long time.”

“Too long!” Kyle pulled her into a hug, “Purgatory hasn’t been the same without your pretty face.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Who are you, beautiful lady?” Kyle asked, his attention on Nicole.

“I’m Nicole, and you’re not my type.”

Kyle put a hand to his chest, “Harsh, dude.”

“Nicole’s my girlfriend.” Waverly said. “Nicole, Kyle.”

“I thought you were with Champ.” Kyle said, confused. “He’s been talking about you all night.”

“Champ’s here?” Waverly searched the bar; she groaned when she spotted her ex-boyfriend with a few of his friends. “Great.”

“Yeah, want me to go get him?”

“No. No!” Waverly said. “I need a drink.”

“I’ll buy the first round!” Kyle said, and disappeared into the crowd.

“He’s… a lot.” Nicole pointed out.

“If you think he’s bad, wait until you meet Brad and Colson.” Waverly said. “They have no idea what person space is.”

“You’ve dealt with a lot of these shitheads, haven’t you?”

“Small town, limited options.” Waverly said. “Also, I was a bartender here for a couple of years so I had to deal with it.”

“Men are gross.” Wynonna said, as she slipped in between the two of them. “Nicky, Red, Haught to Trot. Why don’t we go get ourselves some shots and see who can drink the most?”

“I… uh… I think I’m good with a beer for now.” Nicole said. “Maybe later.”

Wynonna frowned, “Waverly, you suck.”

Waverly looked at her sister, “What the hell did I do?”

“You made Red promise not to drink with me, didn’t you?”

“I just don’t want you to lose your money.”

Wynonna laughed, “Do you see her? She’s like five pounds.”

“I could drink you under the table.” Nicole said, matter of fact.

Wynonna looked up at the redhead, “Oh yeah?”

Nicole nodded, “Mhm.”

“What if we don’t bet money?” Wynonna asked, looking to her sister.

“Only for fun?”

Wynonna nodded, “I can’t be challenged and ignore it.”

Waverly sighed, “I… oh, what the heck! I won’t be able to stop you.”

“You sure?” Nicole asked, a hand on the small of Waverly’s back. “I’m fine with a beer…”

“It’s how my sister bonds.” Waverly said. “Chrissy is going to be here soon, so I’ll go wait for her. Wynonna, behave!”

Wynonna kissed her cheek and skipped off the bar, “You’re the best!”

“She has no idea what she’s getting herself into, does she?” Nicole asked.

Waverly kissed her cheek and shoved her in the direction of her sister, “None whatsoever. Kick her ass, babe!”

///

“They’re perfect for each other.” Chrissy said, as she watched Nicole and Wynonna down shot after shot at the bar.

Waverly nodded, “Wynonna is trying so hard not to give up.”

“She can barely stand straight.” Chrissy laughed.

“How many drinks have they had?” Waverly asked. “I lost count after ten.”

Chrissy shrugged, “So did I.”

“I’m glad Wynonna likes her.” Waverly said, “I was worried she wouldn’t.”

“They’ve met before and they hit it off, why would this time be different?”

“You know how she can be with the people I’m dating and I just… I didn’t want her to scare Nicole away.”  
  


“Why? Is it because you want to really date her and want your sister to approve?”

Waverly blushed and nudged her best friend in the side, “Shut up.”

“Wave, I’ve not seen you this happy in years.” Chrissy said. “I know I keep saying it, but you should go for it. Nicole keeps looking over here, she clearly cares about you too.”

“Caring about me and having feelings for me are two completely different things, you know that.”

Chrissy slapped a hand to her forehead, “For one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my entire life you’re a fuckin’ idiot.”

Waverly gasped, “Chrissy Nedley, how dare you!”

“I said what I said.” Chrissy said. “You’re both being pussies about this and playing pretend when you could have the real thing. You sneak into her room every night for Christ’s sake!”

“I get really cold!!” Waverly tried to argue.

“Bullshit.” Chrissy said. “You want to be with her.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Waverly said. “She doesn’t see me like that.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God.” Chrissy shook her head. “You’re so stupid.”

  
“Sometimes, I really wish we grew up in different hometowns so I could get a break from you.”

“Bitch!”

Waverly laughed, “Sorry!”

“Sure you are.”

“I just… I don’t deserve someone like Nicole.” Waverly said, as their teasing died down. “She’s perfect. God, she’s perfect. She’s kind and funny and beautiful, and she doesn’t even know it. I don’t want her to have to deal with my family for the rest of our lives, that isn’t fair to her.”

“Wave, if she cared about what your family thought, she wouldn’t be here right now, fake or not.” Chrissy said. “Your dad, Andrea’s family, they’ve thrown so much shit at the both of you and it hasn’t changed anything, has it? She hasn’t stopped defending you or told you she wants to go home, right? She’s here because she wants to be, your family be damned.”

“She’s only being nice.”

“You know what, if I’m going to keep talking to you, I need another drink.” Chrissy grabbed her purse and stood up. “You make me want to bang my head against the wall over and over again.”

“How nice of you.” Waverly said sarcastically.

“Stay right here, I’ll be right back.”

“I thought she’d never leave.”

Waverly groaned at the voice and turned to see Champ standing behind her, just a few feet away. “Champ, go away.”

“Is that any way to talk to me, baby?” Champ asked. “Come on, no one else is around, you can drop the act.”

“I’m not acting.” Waverly said, eyes narrowed. “I don’t want you near me.”

“You on your period or somethin’, huh?”

Waverly scoffed, “You’re an asshole.”

“It was a serious question!” Champ said. “You always get super pissy before your period and… and I don’t like it!”

“I don’t care if you don’t like it.” Waverly said, “I’m not here to please you.”

Champ bit his lip, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Well, I do like when you’re feisty… it makes things… more fun.”

“You’re disgusting!” Waverly shoved him away from her. “Leave me alone.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be that way.” Champ pouted. “You can’t honestly tell me that _she_ pleases you right. Let’s go back to my place, I’ll make you forget all about her…”

Waverly shook her head in disgust and stood up, ashamed at herself for ever even giving him a chance; he was such a pig. “Go home, Champ, you’re drunk.”

Champ grabbed her arm as she was about to walk away, “Don’t. Don’t you walk away from me, I’m not done talkin’ to you yet.”

“She said to let her go.”

Champ groaned loudly and turned to see Nicole standing in front of him, “Dude, can you go somewhere? I’m tryin’ to-”

Nicole straightened to her full height, and although she was a little drunk, she was completely focused. “Waverly, are you hurt?”

Waverly cleared her throat and tore her arm away from Champ, “No, I’m fine.”

Nicole nodded and pulled the brunette behind her; she looked down at Champ. “No means no, Chump. When a lady tells you to let her go, you let her go.”

“Shut up.” Champ snarled. “You think you’re a big ole’ hot shot, huh? You think just because you play football that you’re so awesome? You… you’re just an idiot, man! Waverly would never love someone like you!”

“Hardy, watch your god damn mouth!” Wynonna slurred as she pushed her way through the growing crowd. “Nicole is everything you’ll never be and you should accept it.”

“Waverly is a who-”

Nicole punched Champ square in the nose before he could finish his sentence, nostrils flared. “Say it again, I _dare_ you.”

Champ roared angrily and charged at Nicole, knocking the football player over a table and into the floor. He punched her in the face, “You can’t just take her from me, stupid bitch!”

“Champ, stop!” Waverly cried out, panicked.

Nicole hissed in pain as her head hit the floor; she blinked rapidly, trying to get her bearing straight. Before Champ could land another punch, she rolled out from under him and got back to her feet, fists clenched and ready. “You don’t wanna do this, man.”

“Actually, I really fuckin’ do.” Champ swung at her and missed, growling in frustration. “You can’t even give her half of what I can.”

“Please, stop!”

Nicole, knowing he was too drunk and too angry to really focus, zoned in on his every move and ducked when he tried to hit her again. When Champ slipped past her, she grabbed his arm and jerked it roughly behind his back and up towards his neck, causing him to yelp in pain. She smiled, blood dripping down her chin from her busted lip, and slammed him roughly into the wall. “I don’t want to hurt you, alright? Just calm down.”

Champ thrashed in her grip, “Get off me!”

Wynonna grabbed a fistful of his hair and ripped his head back, “You gonna respect my sister now?”

“Yes, God, Wynonna, get this crazy bitch off me!”

“You heard him, Red, let him go.”

Nicole pushed him away and wiped her hands on her jeans, “Asshole.”

Champ mumbled incoherently as his friends scooped him up and carried him out the back. Seeing that the fight was over, the crowd dispersed and went back to what they were doing, breaking into whispers about what just happened.

“Nicole, oh my God, are you alright?” Waverly asked, as she grabbed the football player’s face to get a better look at her. “You’re bleeding.”

Nicole shrugged, “It’s fine, just a scratch.”

Wyonna slapped a hand onto Nicole’s shoulder, “Dude, that was awesome! You kicked his ass so hard!”

“Wynonna, now isn’t the time.” Waverly said, obviously worried about Nicole.

“Baby girl, lighten up, your girlfriend just kicked someone’s ass for you.” Wynonna said. “You should be jumpin’ her bones right now.”

“Wynonna!” Chrissy hissed and pulled the older Earp away from the couple.

“I’m fine, Wave, really.” Nicole wiped the blood from her busted lip on her sleeve, a dopey grin on her face. Now that the fight was over her adrenaline was gone and exhausted… and maybe still a little drunk.

“Here, take this.” Shorty handed the redhead an ice pack. “Any time you come into my bar, you’ll always get a free drink from me. Hardy has had that comin’ for a long time; I’m glad to see that Waverly a good one.”

“Thank you, sir.” Nicole said, sighing in relief when the coldness of the ice came into contact with her cut.

“My name is Shorty, okay?”

Nicole nodded, “Got it, si- Shorty.”

“That’s more like it.” Shorty said, “You ladies have a good night.”

“We should get you home.” Waverly said, “Marty can check you out.”

“Waverly, I’m fine, I promise.” Nicole met her eyes, “You’re not upset with me, are you?”

“What? No, of course I’m not.” Waverly said. “I… I’m flattered, actually.”

“Why?”

“No one has ever stuck up for me like that.” Waverly said.

“I won’t ever allow him to talk about you like that, especially if I’m around.” Nicole said. “You’re not… what he was gonna say. You know that, right?”

Waverly nodded, “Yeah, I do.”

Nicole sighed, “Good. That’s good.”

“Come on, we should get home.” Waverly said, as she led Nicole towards the door. “You sure you’re okay?”

Nicole nodded, matter of fact, “Never better.”

///

“Nicole?”

“Hmm?”

Waverly adjusted herself to get a better look at the redhead. “Thank you.”

“You really don’t have to keep thanking me, Wave.” Nicole said as she closed her book. They were laying in Nicole’s bed, winding down from the night’s events. “Champ deserved it.”

“I’m sorry he hurt you.”

“Why the hell are you apologizing to me?” Nicole asked, confused. “You didn’t do anything wrong and you know it.”

“I should’ve stepped in sooner.”

“Wave, it’s fine, I promise you.” Nicole said. “Whether you stepped in or not, I would’ve still decked him in the face for speaking that way about you.”

“What if the school finds out or- or you get in trouble?”

“I would do it again.” Nicole said simply. “I told you, I won’t ever let anyone talk about you like that when I’m around.”

“But-”

Nicole shook her head, “No buts.”

“How’s your face?” Waverly ran her fingers gently across Nicole’s lip. “You sure you don’t need stitches?”

Nicole grabbed Waverly’s hand and kissed her knuckles, “I’m. Fine.”

“You say that now but what if it scars or-”

“Waverly.”

Waverly paused and looked at Nicole, “Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

Waverly sighed and relaxed against Nicole, “Sorry, I’m just worried about you.”

“It’s a busted lip; I swear it’s not the worst thing to ever happen to me.” Nicole assured her. “I’m a football player, remember?”

“That’s different.”

“You’re right, it is.” Nicole agreed. “Instead of being punched in the face by a single dude I’m usually being tackled to the ground by several 300-pound guys.”

“Okay, okay, point taken.”

“It’s sweet, how you’re worried but I promise I’m good.” Nicole said. “It’ll be healed up in a few days and we’ll forget all about it.”

“I’ll never forget what you did for me tonight, Nicole.” Waverly said. “I know it’s sounds so stupid but you have no idea how much it means to me. Boyfriends in the past would’ve just let him talk to me like that, hell, most of them would’ve joined in. It means a lot to me.”

“I’ve got you, Waves, always.”

Waverly nodded, knowing she telling the truth, “I know you do, Nic.”

///

“Thank you, uh, for last night.”

Nicole looked up from her phone and greeted Wynonna with a smile. “No problem.”

Wynonna slid into an empty chair across the redhead, “Daddy will probably try and give you some shit though; Chump’s parents are big customers of his.”

Nicole shrugged, nonchalant, “I don’t really care.”  
  


“You’re literally my favorite person on the face of the planet, Red, I like your attitude.” Wynonna stated. “You’re good for my sister.”

“_She’s everything to me._” Nicole thought to herself. “I uh… thanks.”

“I was worried when I first met you.” Wynonna admitted. “Waverly talked and talked about you for weeks before I officially met you and I thought for sure you were going to be just like every other shithead she’s dated in the past.”

“Waverly talked about me?” Nicole asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Wynonna nodded, “I could barely say hello before she was tellin’ me all about you. ‘Nicole did this, Nicole did that’, honestly it’s disgusting how much she likes you.”

“She’s perfect.”

“Yeah, she really is.” Wynonna said. “Look, I know Waverly doesn’t talk about it a lot but her past relationships really hurt her. Champ was the only serious one but the guys she was with before you, they were fucking terrible. Which, like, doesn’t make sense to me because she’s the greatest person I know. Shouldn’t she have the best in everything?”

“She should, yeah.” Nicole agreed. “Waverly’s the best.”

“I like you, Haught, but I want you to know that if you ever hurt my sister I will kill you and hide your body where no one will ever find it.” Wynonna said.

“I believe you.” Nicole said. “But I don’t plan on hurting her, Wynonna.”

Wynonna nodded, “Good...” 

“I’ll take care of her.” Nicole assured her. “You never have to worry about her when she’s with me. I’d do anything for her.”


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super gay with a side of angst? Yolo.

** **

“Do you have an idea what you could’ve done to my business, Haught?” Ward asked, his tone anything but friendly as he glared at the redhead who sat across from his desk.

Nicole shrugged, unapologetic; they had been in his office for almost half an hour going over the events last night. Waverly had told her she didn’t have to speak with him but Nicole insisted, saying she wasn’t afraid of him and wouldn’t allow him to bully her into submission.

Ward sighed deeply, “You are just fun and games to my daughter, you know that, correct? What will it take for you to go away? I’ve got money-”

“I love Waverly.” Nicole said, matter of fact. “You couldn’t pay me enough to leave her. If you want to be upset with someone, maybe you should talk to Champ; he seems to think that Waverly is his property.”

“She was happy with him until you came into her life!” Ward roared, unable to contain his anger any longer. “You corrupted her with your sick, disgusting ways! Champ Hardy is a good man-”

“He called your daughter a whore!”

“Well that’s what she’s acting like!” Ward spat. “Their entire future was set in stone and then I hear that she’s with the likes of you? What can you give her, huh? Your football stardom will only get you so far but outside of that, what do you have? I’ve looked into your family and there’s _nothing_!”

Nicole clenched her jaw, “Don’t you want her happy?”

“I don’t want her to settle!” Ward said. “You can’t give her children or a proper life, you know that right? People will talk!”

Nicole stood up, unable to sit still any longer, “Waverly didn’t love Champ! Do you know how many girls he slept with while they were together? How many nights he kept her waiting around only for him to not show up?”

“He’s a popular man!” Ward argued. “He’s very busy!”

Nicole scoffed, “You would rather your daughter be in a loveless relationship, unsure of herself than be with someone who cares about her?”

“You can’t love her!” Ward said. “You _can’t!_”

“I can and I do.” Nicole said, refusing to back down. “My family may not have money and we may not have had the best life growing up but at least they accepted me for who I was and always supported me.”  
  


Ward ran a hand through his hair, “You’ll ruin her.”

“All I want for her is to be happy-”

“And all_ I_ want is for her to be the best version of herself, to be successful in life!”

Nicole paused, halfway out the door, “You know, if you stopped for just one second and tried to get to know her, you’d realize she’s already the best. You have one hell of a daughter, Ward Earp, too bad you can’t see it.”

“She’ll only break your heart!” Ward called after her, “Just you wait!”

///

“Wave, come on, open up!” Wynonna said as she knocked on her little sister’s door once more. “You’ve been in there all morning!”

Waverly mumbled something incoherent and pulled the door open, “What?”

“Why are you hiding out in here and not boning your girlfriend somewhere?” Wynonna asked as she made her way into the bedroom. “I mean, she’s totally hot but also she punched Champ Hardy in the face. That’s like- I would be taking her on more than one ride, lemme tell you.”

“Wynonna!”

“I have eyes, Waverly!” Wynonna said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “For real, why are you in here? I thought you’d be waiting outside Daddy’s office to see what happened.”

Waverly tapped her fingers on her knees, “No one has every treated me the way that she has before and it scares the shit out of me.”

“Dude, it’s totally okay to admit you wanna have her babies and call her Daddy…”

Waverly slapped Wynonna’s arm, “Stop that!”

“Stop what? I just don’t get why you’re freaking out.” Wynonna rubbed her arm, a frown on her face. “Nicole is awesome; she was totally defending your honor!”

“It’s too much!” Waverly said, panicked. “She means so much to me and what if she leaves? I- I don’t think I can handle that, Wynonna.”

“Uh, have you paid attention at all since you guys got here?” Wynonna asked. “Nicole is whipped for you. Like, I’m surprised you don’t have a ring right now.”

“We’re not together.”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes, “What?”

“Nicole and me… it’s not… it’s fake.” Waverly started to pace. “I wanted to upset Daddy and I thought it was a good idea at the time but I have these feelings and she’s making them worse!”

“Wait, I’m sorry, you’re not together?” Wynonna snorted out a laugh. “Very funny, that’s a terrible joke.”

“I’m not kidding!” Waverly said. “She’s not my girlfriend but I really, _really _want her to be! I’ve not felt like this towards anyone else before…”

“Wave?”

“Yeah?”

“I have an idea and just… stay with me here, yeah?”

Waverly nodded, full attention on her sister.

“Tell her!” Wynonna said, “Tell her that you want to be more than friends! Oh my God, you’re so stupid. Honestly Wave, I’m certain she feels the same way.”

“She’s only doing what I ask her too.”

Wynonna slapped a hand to her forehead, “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ, you’ve got to be kidding me! Are you dense? Like, did you hit your head and lose all your smarts because Baby Girl, you’re _so _stupid.” 

“_Hey_!”

“Nicole just spent an hour downstairs arguing with our father over you!” Wynonna said. “I think we’re way past faking it by now!”

“But-”

“You’re gay for her, she’s gay for you…”

“You don’t know that.”

“Nicole loves you, Wave, trust me.” Wynonna said. “Put on your big girl pants and tell her you want more. I promise you, she won’t turn you down.”

“We have the party…”

“Perfect time!” Wynonna said. “While you’re being all gross and cute, helping each other get ready, tell her the truth!”

Wynonna pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, “I don’t know…”

“Fine.” Wynonna said, throwing her hands up in the air. “Don’t tell her. Don’t tell her the truth and miss out on what could be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you.”

Waverly sighed and collapsed onto her bed, “I don’t want to lose her.”

“You won’t!” Wynonna said, “Screw Daddy, and Willa and everyone else who doesn’t think you’re meant for each other. It’s been two weeks and I gotta say, if you don’t keep her, I will.”

Waverly glared at her, “I hate you.”

Wynonna shrugged, “You’ve never been one to keep shit inside, don’t start now. If you want her, go get her.”

Waverly’s heart started to beat rapidly in her chest, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

Waverly nodded, matter of fact. “Okay.”

///

“Nicole, we need to talk!” Waverly made her way into Nicole’s room later that night, ready to spill her heart out to the redhead. She was beyond nervous but she had to believe that for once, Wynonna was right; something was definitely there between them. “Nic?”

“Wave, hey!” Nicole greeted the brunette with a kiss to the cheek as she made her way into the bedroom, struggling with her bowtie. “I went to look for Marty to see if she could help me with this damn thing but I can’t find her.”

Waverly couldn’t help but gasp as she took in the sight in front of her, her eyes growing wide. “I… uh… she’s helping with dinner!” Waverly sputtered out, unable to think clearly at the moment. The football player was wearing black slacks, a white button up that fit her _just _right and dark blue polka dot suspenders that made Nicole so much more attractive than she had the right to be. “I-”

“Can you help me with this?” Nicole asked as she pulled her bowtie from her neck. “Mom normally does it but since she’s not here…”

“What? Huh, yeah, sure!” Waverly said as she grabbed the black bowtie from Nicole’s hands. She slipped it around the taller girl’s neck and tied it perfectly in seconds. “There, all done!”

Nicole made her way over to the mirror in her room and whistled low, “Damn.”

“Damn is right.” Waverly said under her breath.

“What was that?” Nicole asked, having not heard her.

Waverly waved her off, “Nothing!”

Nicole looked at Waverly for a long while, “You wanted to talk?”  
  


“What?”

“When you first came in here, you said you wanted to talk?”

Waverly felt her heart drop into her stomach as the nerves came back. How in the hell was she supposed to talk to Nicole when she looked like _that_? “Oh! I forgot, yeah! I should go and get ready.”

“You sure?” Nicole asked, concerned at how the youngest Earp was acting.

Waverly laughed nervously, “Totally!”

“Okay…” Nicole said slowly.

“I’m gonna go.” Waverly started to back up into the hallway. “Things to do, people to see and whatnot!”

“I’ll see you in an hour?” Nicole asked.

“Yep! Yep, yep, yep!” Waverly said and before Nicole could say anything else she took off down the stairs and back into her room. She slammed the door and turned for her closet only to jump when she saw Wynonna on her bed. “What the fuck!”

“You pussied out, didn’t you?”

“What? Pshhh, no!”

Wynonna raised an eyebrow, challenging her little sister to try and lie to her.

“Alright, yes, I chickened out but it wasn’t my fault!” Waverly said. “Do you have any idea what she’s wearing? She’s so attractive and Oh my God, I’m so gay for her.”

Wynonna laughed, “You didn’t tell her you’re in love with her and want to date her for real because you’re turned on?”

“I never said that!!”

“You didn’t have to. Your cheeks are redder than a baboon’s ass, Baby Girl.”

“She’s in suspenders, Wynonna! Cute polka dot suspenders and a bowtie!” Waverly said, “How am I supposed to tell her how I feel when I can’t even form a basic sentence.”

Wynonna shook her head, “You’re an idiot.”

“I’ll tell her tomorrow.”

“Bullshit.”

Waverly glared at her sister as she made her way over to her closet and grabbed her dress for the party, “You’re the absolute worst.”

///

Nicole was halfway down the stairs when Waverly Earp stepped into the hallway and that’s when the redhead’s heart dropped right into the floor. Waverly hadn’t seen her yet, too busy adjusting her dress and so it gave Nicole a few seconds longer to take in the beauty that was Waverly. The brunette was wearing a dark blue strapless dress that stopped just above her knees with an open back; it matched Nicole perfectly.

Waverly felt eyes on her and couldn’t help but jump when she saw Nicole staring at her. She held a hand to her chest, “You scared me.”

“You are a vision.” Nicole said, a small smile on her lips as she took the several steps it took to get to the small girl. “God Wave, you’re beautiful.”

Waverly felt the blush creep onto her cheeks and she couldn’t help but look down, unable to take the way Nicole was looking at her. Throughout the years, no matter how much effort she had put into dressing up and looking pretty, Champ or one of the other boys she had dated would only comment on how much they wanted to get her out of her clothes and into their beds. She never thought anyone would look at her as more than just a notch on their bedpost but Nicole… Nicole actually made her believe that she was beautiful.

“Hey, you okay?” Nicole gripped Waverly’s chin, forcing her to look at her. “I- I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped. I know no one’s around but…”

Waverly shook her head, blinking back the tears; “Everything is perfect.”

Nicole stared into her eyes for a while longer before she nodded, seeming to accept that Waverly was alright. “You picked the perfect dress.”

Waverly followed Nicole down to the main floor, “You’re very pretty.”

Nicole’s eyes widened at the compliment; many girls had said that she was attractive but hearing it from Waverly was better than anything else in the world. “I don’t compare to you but I’ll be glad to have you on my arm tonight, if you’ll allow it?”

Waverly’s heart fluttered at the kindness that was Nicole; she tucked her arm into her elbow. “Gladly.”

“God, you guys are gross!” Wynonna said, a glass of whisky in her hand; she was wearing a bright red dress and it was sure to piss their father off.

“Look at you, you dressed up!”

Wynonna flipped Waverly off, “Shut up.”

“You ladies are absolutely stunning.” Doc said, as he made his way into the foyer; he was in a classic tuxedo with his signature hat. “I do not compare.”

“No, you definitely don’t!” Wynonna laughed as she fell into his arms, already a little tipsy. “I vote we go to Shorty’s.”

“Can’t you be mature for one minute, Wynonna?” Willa asked as she walked into the room, arms crossed tightly across her chest. “You already almost ruined Daddy’s business last night.”

“Have you ever stopped to think about why you’re such a bitch?”

Everyone stopped and stared at Nicole, eyes wide at her comment.

Nicole held her hands up, “I’m sorry, but I’m over it. It’s been two weeks of you going on and on about how much you hate Waverly and Wynonna and I’m sick of it. What have they ever done to you, huh? Didn’t you push Wynonna off of a horse when she was seven, causing her to break her arm? Didn’t you throw Waverly’s favorite animal onto the ice and laughed when she fell in? Didn’t you force her to walk across a beam at the age of four only to tell on her anyways? You could’ve killed them!”

“You don’t know a damn thing!” Willa snarled, “You think they’re so innocent but they aren’t! Wynonna made Daddy’s life a living hell and Waverly… Waverly is a... a gay!”

“So?” Nicole said, failing to see Willa’s reasons. “Love is love. People make mistakes. You’re still sitting on your ass every day, aren’t you? Living off your Daddy’s wealth and making your husband do all the work?”

“Hey now, don’t bring me into this.” Bobo grabbed a glass of champagne from a waiter that walked by into the grand room.

“Waverly will leave you.” Willa said. “You’re only here to upset our father but when she’s done using you, she’s _done_. You can defend her all you want, fight all of her battles for her but in the end you’ll be alone.”

Wynonna took a step towards her sister, “Willa, that’s enough.”

Willa waved Wynonna off, “Oh, calm down! You know I’m right.”

“No, you aren’t.” Nicole said, jaw clenched. “Waverly is good.”

Willa laughed, “Oh honey, you wish that were true.”

“I-”

“Ladies, gentleman.” Maxwell said, abruptly ending their conversation. “Mr. Earp’s guests have arrived; the party has begun.”

///

An hour into the party, Nicole had met nearly everyone and with the exception of two or three people she could barely remember anyone’s names or what their titles were. In truth, they were all the same- snobby, homophobic and powerful. Most of the men were disgusted that not only Waverly was dating a woman but that she was with someone who was playing a man’s sport. The women on the other hand couldn’t understand why Nicole wouldn’t dress like a proper lady.

“These people are the worst.” Nicole stated as she sipped on her whisky.

“Last year, Mrs. Griffin asked me why I wasn’t married yet and if I was planning on having a baby any time soon.”

“You were eighteen…”

“Yeah, I know!” Waverly said. “If Mama were here, she would’ve never allowed this to happen. Sometimes, I don’t even blame her for leaving us.”

“Ward is a hard man to deal with.” Nicole said, “But that still doesn’t make it okay that she left you guys to deal with him.”

Waverly pulled Nicole’s free arm around her waist- it was mostly for show but deep down she just wanted to be close to her. “I know.”

“I can’t get over how beautiful you look tonight.” Nicole whispered in her ear; she was a little drunk. “There’s no one like you.”

Waverly couldn’t help but shiver as Nicole’s breath tickled her neck, “How much have you had to drink?”

“Drunk or sober, I still think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Nicole said. “I know I’ve said it before but there’s some lucky bastard out there and I hope to high hell they treat you right.”

“_It’s you_.” Waverly said, words barely a whisper.

“What?” Nicole asked, bending down lower hear her better.

“I said I have to pee!” Waverly said and stepped away from Nicole. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Nicole looked at her, eyes narrowed, “Waverly…”

“Five minutes!” Waverly said and disappeared through the crowd.

Nicole watched her leave, confused by the sudden change in Waverly. “Alright then…”

///

“Have you seen Wave?”

Wynonna pulled away from Doc and looked at the redhead, “Uh, not in the last hour, why? I thought she was with you.”

“She was but then she got really weird and went to the bathroom.” Nicole said. “That was twenty minutes ago.”

“Maybe she got lost?” Wynonna suggested.

“I don’t think so, no.” Nicole sighed. “I’ll keep looking for her.”

“Better hurry, Marty is about to bring out desert and it’s every man for himself.” Wynonna said before she attacked Doc again with her lips.

Nicole frowned and made her way back through the many groups of people, looking everywhere for the tiny brunette. Waverly had been acting strange all day and she was worried about her. After checking one final time to make sure she wasn’t amongst the crowd, Nicole slipped out of the grand room and out into the hallway. She turned in the direction of the bathrooms only to stop dead in her tracks when she was what was in front of her. Just a few feet away, out of sight from prying eyes, Waverly was wrapped up in Champ Hardy’s arms, completely unaware of anyone around her.

Nicole didn’t even realize she had broken the glass in her hand until she felt the burn of the whisky as it seeped into her bleeding palm.


	8. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna make you guys wait another day but I just couldn't. Thanks for all the likes, comments, kudos, it really means a lot to me!

Waverly needed air- Nicole was making her feel things she had never felt before and it absolutely terrified her. What if Wynonna was wrong? What if Nicole was just playing her part very well and Waverly ended up with a broken heart? Champ, all of those other boys, they had never made her feel even a quarter of what Nicole Haught made her feel. She thought that she would be okay, that they could come here and show off their fake relationship to her father, to get him to back off and then go back to the way things were. But no, that wasn’t possible anymore. Waverly was in too deep and she was scared, scared to lose Nicole if she opened up to her, if she told her the truth.

Nicole was kind and funny- she was protective yet dorky and so, _so_ attractive without meaning to be; Waverly felt safe with her. Ward and Willa had always attacked her, teased her for the things she liked and often times Champ would join in along with them but Nicole was different. Nicole fought back, defended her when she didn’t have to and Waverly loved her even more for it. To know that someone was on her side, no matter what, was the absolute best thing in the world.

“Wave, there you are!”

Waverly groaned and turned to see Champ making his way over to her; didn’t he learn his lesson the night before? “Champ.”

“I’m sorry about last night.” Champ said, a pout on his face. “You know I didn’t mean what I said, baby. It’s just… seeing you with her… it upsets me.”

“You were going to call me a whore because you don’t like who I’m with?” Waverly asked, an eyebrow raised in question. “Way to win a girl back.”

Champ took a step towards her, a drunken smile on his face, “Come on, Wave, you always come back to me. You and me, we’re meant to be.”

“If we were meant to be, why wasn’t I good enough for you?”

Champ looked down at her, clearly confused, “What?”  


“Stephanie, Katherine, Emma, Jackie…”

Champ held his hand up, “Okay, okay, I get it.”

“We were never good for each other.” Waverly said. “Deep down you know that.”

“You’re my girl…”

“_Was_, Champ, past tense.” Waverly said, irritated. “I’m with Nicole now and I really wish you could respect that. I love her.”

“You’re confused.”

“Alright, Tucker Gardener.”

“Huh? I’m Champ.”

Waverly slapped a hand to her forehead, “Oh my God.”

Champ took another step towards her, “Couple minutes with me and you’ll remember all the great times we’ve had together, promise.”

“Do you know the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for me?”

“Uh…”

“You got me flowers for my birthday.” Waverly said. “They were wilted and falling apart all over the place but you were so excited that I didn’t have the heart to tell you that you were a day late. In the four years we were together, that shouldn’t have been the only thing that you did for me.”

“There was plenty of stuff!”

“If you really believe that-”

“Just one more chance!” Champ begged, his vodka sloshing in his glass as he stumbled closer to her. “I promise I’ll do better! I’ll give you whatever you want, anytime you want!”

Waverly ran a hand through her hair, “I need to get back to Nicole.”

Champ dropped an arm on either side of her, trapping her in place, “Wave…”

“Let me go, Champ.” Waverly said, jaw clenched. “If Nicole…”

“Forget about her!” Champ said, waving her off. “She’s just a dyke!”

Waverly narrowed her eyes and grabbed either side of his biceps, squeezing as hard as she possibly could. “No means no, James. I don’t want you, okay? You’re rude, narcissistic, and a drunk!”

Champ whimpered as she squeezed harder; he jerked away from her and rubbed at his arms. “Damn Wave.”

“Leave. Me. Alone.” Waverly said and stormed off, back into the party.

“Hey Baby Girl, Nicole was looking for you!” Wynonna said, waggling her eyebrows. “If you wanna get loud, now’s the time, no one will hear you.”

Waverly rolled her eyes at her sister as she looked over the crowd, looking for a familiar redhead. “Do you know where she went? I don’t see her?”

Wynonna shrugged, “No idea.”

Waverly sighed, “Yeah, okay, thanks.”

Wynonna grabbed Waverly’s wrist as she went to pass, “Tell her, Wave.”

Waverly nodded, “I will.”

Wynonna patted her shoulder and dismissed her, returning her attention back to Doc and the bottle of whisky they stole from the bar to share.

Waverly searched and searched the entirety of the party over and over again but came up empty every time. She asked Chrissy and Bobo and eventually resorted to asking Willa but none of them had seen the football player in a while. Waverly was worried- Nicole had completely disappeared.

///

**{Nicole – 10:40PM}** I’m coming home.

**{Alex – 10:42PM}** What? Why?

**{Jake – 10:45PM}** Uh, I know you’ve never been great at math but you’ve got two weeks left, little sis.

**{Nicole – 10:47PM}** This isn’t a joke, Jake.

Nicole was halfway through packing her bags when her phone rang; she looked down to see that it was her sister. She thought about ignoring it but knew Alex wouldn’t stop until she talked to her. “What?” She asked, as she answered the phone.

“_What happened_?” Alex asked.

“I just want to come home.” Nicole zipped up one of her bags and moved on to the next one. “I’m staying in a hotel tonight and I’ll be on the first flight out in the morning.”

“_Is it Waverly_?” Alex asked.

“It’s over, all of it.” Nicole said, her voice cracking slightly on the last word.

“_I’m sorry_.” Alex said simply. “_I know you really liked her_.”

“I loved- love her.” Nicole said. “She doesn’t love me.”

“_Did you have a fight_?” Alex asked. _“Did something go wrong?”_

“I really need to finish packing, Alex.”

Alex sighed, knowing there was no use in trying to get information out of her little sister until she was ready to talk. “_I’ll let mom and dad know_.”

“Thank you.” Nicole said. “I’ll text you when I get my flight details.”

“_I’ll pick you up and then we can go and grab a drink_.” Alex said. “_Okay_?”

“Sure, whatever.” Nicole said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“_Fly safe_.”

Nicole hung up the phone and quickly packed the rest of her stuff there was only a short amount of time before Waverly came to look for her. Then again, she was probably too busy with Champ to even realize she had disappeared. She wrote a quick note, to let Waverly know she understood, grabbed her things and took off down the stairs and out the backdoor where a car was waiting to take her into town. The party was still in full swing and it was too cold for people to be outside so it was easy for her to slip away into the night without anyone stopping her.

A little while later, when she was finally alone in the rundown hotel right off the interstate, she broke down. Tears fell freely down her face as she let her broken heart take over every part of her; God she was such an idiot.

///

Waverly made her way up the stairs and into Nicole’s room after spending the better part of thirty minutes looking all over the main floor for the redhead. When she came up empty, she figured it was best to check upstairs; maybe Nicole had gotten sick or… or she had no idea.

She barely had one foot in the room when she realized something was wrong. Nicole’s bags were gone- her clothes, shoes, even the book she kept on her nightstand that she didn’t read. Waverly felt a panic in her chest she hadn’t before and immediately called Nicole but the phone went straight to voicemail. What the hell happened? Where did she go?  


Waverly was about to leave and go get Wynonna when she caught a glimpse of a piece of paper on the dresser. She picked it up and began to read…

_Wave,_

_I saw you with Champ earlier and I <strike>want</strike> need you to know that it’s okay. I won’t stand in the way of true love. I’m sorry I punched him in the face last night, I would’ve never done that if I knew you guys were trying to fix things. I didn’t mean to cross so many lines and I hope you can forgive me <strike>some</strike> one day. I think it’s best that I go home for the rest of break. I’ll move my things out of our room when we get back to campus and you’ll never see me again. I <strike>have.</strike> Fuck. I know it doesn’t matter but I love you and I just want you happy. Merry Christmas._

By the time Waverly was finished with the note, it was soaked through with tears. Why on earth did Nicole think that- Oh. _Oh no_. Waverly folded the note up and tucked it into her bra before taking off down the stairs to try and find her older sister.

“Wynonna!” Waverly shoved her way through the crowds of people. “Wynonna!”

“Wave, hey, what’s wrong?” Chrissy asked, seeing her best friend in a full- blown panic. 

“Nicole’s gone and I need Wynonna.” Waverly said, tears falling down her face; she didn’t care about the guests or anyone else for that matter.

“What do you mean she’s gone?”

“I… She… She thinks I’m back with Champ!” Waverly said. “I went to the bathroom and he- he wouldn’t leave me alone! God, I hate him!”

“What’s going on?” Wynonna asked as she made her way over to her little sister; she had seen her crying and sobered up real fast. “Baby Girl?”

“Nicole went home!” Waverly crashed into Wynonna, sobbing uncontrollably.

Wynonna wrapped her arms around Waverly, trying her best to comfort her; she was never really good at these things. “Why?”

“She thinks I got back with Champ and it’s all his fault!” Waverly cried. “He wouldn’t let me go and I think she saw us and- and I’m gonna shoot him!”

Wynonna gave Chrissy a look of confusion, “Uh…”

“I think Nicole misinterpreted the situation?” Chrissy suggested.

“Ah, that makes sense.” Wynonna said. She pulled away from Waverly and looked her in the eyes, “Wave, we’re gonna get her back, okay?”

“How?” Waverly asked. “She- she’s already gone!”

“I don’t know but we’ll figure it out, okay?” Wynonna said. “First thing in the morning, I promise.”  


“In the morning? But-”

“It’s late and we have no idea where she is right now. It’s best if we all just calm down and figure out a plan, yeah?” Wynonna tried to reason.

“I… fine.” Waverly sniffled, defeated.

“Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

///

“What do you mean you’re going to San Diego?”

“Nicole left last night and we’re going to go and get her back.” Wynonna told their father as they ate their breakfast. “Waverly loves her.”

Ward scoffed, “Waverly doesn’t know what love is.”

“I’m sick and tired of everyone acting like I’m not here!” Waverly snapped. “All of my life you’ve told me what I am, _who_ I am and I’m done! I love Nicole- she’s good to me and she makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. I know she’s not what you want for me but I don’t care, okay? Cut me off, disown me, I won’t sacrifice my happiness for you anymore.”

“Nicole is-”

“Exactly the type of person you should want for Waverly.” Wynonna said. “She treats her like a god damn princess, all the time, and expects nothing in return. Shouldn’t that be enough for you?”

“It’s not right!” Ward argued. “It’s disgusting!”

“It’s a beautiful relationship that anyone would be lucky to be a part of.” Wynonna said. “Do you know how rare it is to find a love like theirs? So many people spend their lives looking for the one and Waverly happened to find it early in life. If you still can’t see that, I feel sorry for you.”

“I can’t have a daughter who-”

“You won’t only lose Waverly today.” Wynonna said, matter of fact. “If you cut her off, you lose me too.”

“I…” Ward sighed heavily, knowing he was in a losing fight. “I will never accept this relationship but I do not want to lose either of you. I won’t apologize for my behavior but I won’t stop you; go if you must.”

Waverly sighed, relieved and quickly pulled her father into a hug, “Thank you.”

Ward patted her back and stepped away, “Let me know when you get to San Diego, I have someone who can pick you up.”

“Will you be back in time for Christmas?” Marty asked from her spot at the kitchen counter.

“I uh… I don’t know.” Waverly said. “It depends.”

“I’ll save an apple pie for you just in case.”

“God, you’re the best.” Wynonna said, “I knew I loved you for a reason.”

Marty rolled her eyes, “Mhm sure. Now get outta my kitchen before you miss your flight and Waverly loses that girl of hers forever.”

///

“You look like shit.”

Nicole looked up from her phone, a frown on her face as she saw her sister. “Thanks, appreciate it.”

Alex popped her trunk and nodded for Nicole to toss her things inside, “Jake is gonna meet us at the bar in an hour.”

“I thought you were joking.” Nicole sighed as closed the trunk and got into the car. “I really just want to go home.”

Alex laughed, “My baby sister has a broken heart, of course we’re gonna go get drunk. Besides, do you really wanna go home right now and deal with the 50 questions you’re gonna get from our parents.”

Nicole sighed, “Not really.”

Alex pulled out of the airport and headed in the direction of downtown, “Exactly.”

Nicole sat quietly in her seat as they drove, the radio the only noise in the car; it was times like this when she was really grateful for her sister- she wouldn’t push Nicole to talk unless she was ready. Jake on the other hand, just like their mother, would push and push until she finally got angry enough and talked about whatever it was that was bothering her.

Thirty minutes later they were at Pete’s- a rundown bar right in the middle of downtown. It didn’t look like the nicest place on the outside, or even the safest but the drinks were cheap and the food wasn’t half bad either. It was a place to go to when life was shit and you just needed to escape for a little while.

“I still don’t know how this place hasn’t been shut down yet.” Nicole said as they made their way into the bar.

“Uh, because it’s awesome?” Alex said, matter of fact; she waved at several of the regulars. “Do you know how much you can drink here without breaking your bank? Loads, dude, loads.”

“I prefer a bottle of vodka and some orange juice.” Nicole said as they sat down in one of the booths.

“That’s depressing, Nicky, even for you.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “Don’t call me that.”

“Waverly does.”

Nicole clenched her jaw at the name, “That’s different.”

“What can I get you ladies?”

“Whisky.” Alex told the waitress, “Lots of whisky.”

“Bad day?”

Alex nodded towards Nicole, “Broken heart.”

“Ah.” The waitress said. “I think I have a bottle that will do just fine.”

“That sounds fantastic!”

“Thank you.” Nicole mumbled, refusing to make eye contact with the waitress; she really wasn’t in the mood to be social. “That’ll be great.”

“So, can I punch her in the face?”

Nicole looked at her sister, “What? No.”

“She broke your heart.” Alex thanked the waitress as she dropped off their drinks and left the bottle. She poured a little extra into Nicole’s glass. “No one is allowed to hurt my baby sister but me.”

Nicole took a sip of her drink, “It was all fake.”

“For what, five seconds? It might’ve started off that way…” Alex said slowly, she had already down her drink and was on to another one.

“Waverly asked me to be her girlfriend over winter break because she was sick and tired of her father always saying shit about her sexuality, that’s all it was.”

“You’re stupid.”

Nicole looked at her sister, eyes wide, “Excuse me?”

“You pretended to date a girl you have feelings for and you thought that it was going to end well?” Alex laughed. “God, you’re such a lesbian.”

“I… I thought she had feelings for me to.” Nicole said, unable to hide the sadness in her voice. “At first, I just- I thought she was playing along like we agreed but lately it felt like things were different.”

“Maybe things _did _changed for her?” Alex said. “Maybe she does have feelings for you and you’re just scared. I know you, Nic, you run when things get serious.”

Nicole shook her head, “This time, I was all in.”

“So, what happened?” Alex asked.

“I saw her with her ex last night.” Nicole down the rest of her drink and poured herself another.

“Did you confront her?”

Nicole shook her head, “Why would I?”

“Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like?” Alex suggested. “You’re the worst person when it comes to jumping to conclusions.”

“No, I’m not.” Nicole argued. “I saw what I saw, okay?”

Alex held her hands up, “Alright, alright.”

Nicole was onto her third drink, “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have caught feelings.”

“Yeah, because we can help how we feel.” Alex said sarcastically. “Why don’t you call her, huh? Ask her why she asked you to do this if she was only going to get back with her ex.”

“There’s no use.”

“So, that’s it, you’re done?” Alex asked. “You’re not going to talk to her, to get closer? You live with her, Nic.”

“I’ll go home early and move out.” Nicole said. “This time of the year there’s open dorms from kids who dropped out, it’ll be fine.”

“Because that’s such a healthy way to cope.”

“Shut up.” Nicole grumbled. “I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t even know what’s going on and I say you’re full of shit, little sis.” Jake said as he slid into the booth next to her; he pulled Nicole into a bone crushing hug. “How’s it going?”

“Wonderful.”

“I love how enthusiastic you are.”

Nicole shoved her older brother off of her, “Asshole.”

“Nicky has a broken heart.” Alex said. “Turns out fake-dating someone you’re in love isn’t such a good idea.”

“That bi-”

“Don’t!” Nicole said, “Don’t call her that.”

“But-”

Nicole swiped her fingers through the condensation on her glass; the thought of going home and sleeping forever sounded great right about now. “It was never going to work out anyways.”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, Nic.”

Nicole shrugged, her attention on the melting ice cubes in her glass, “Shit happens.”

Jake looked across the table at Alex, a frown on his face; this was a problem. Nicole had been through heartbreak before but it had been nothing like this- it hadn’t even been 24 hours and their sister was already a shell of herself.

///

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Waverly cried out in frustration as she saw that their flight to San Diego had been cancelled due to an incoming snow storm. They were at some airport in the middle of nowhere in North Dakota, far from home but even further from their destination.

“Oh my God, this is a movie.”

Waverly glared up at her sister, “This isn’t a joke.”

“The next flight isn’t until tomorrow afternoon but that is only if the snow has cleared by then.” Doc said, as he made his way back over to the two women. “It seems we are stuck here for the night- no one is going to come and get us in this weather.”

Waverly ran a hand through her hair, “This can’t be happening.”

Wynonna collapsed into a chair, “Well fuck.”

“I’m gonna try Nicole again.” Waverly said; she dialed the familiar number but it went straight to voicemail for the umpteenth time that day. She slammed her phone down onto one of the empty chairs. “Shit ticket!”

“Maybe her phone is dead?”

“She’s ignoring me.” Waverly said. “I know it.”

“Does this place have coffee?” Wynonna looked around the airport and frowned when she saw two restaurants already closed. “This is the worst place to be snowed in, there’s not even any food.”

“I saw a vending machine near the bathroom.” Doc said.

Wynonna thought about it for a moment and nodded, “I’m okay with that.” She stood up and grabbed some cash from her pocket. “Wave, you want anything?”

Waverly shook her head, “I’m not hungry.”

“You’ve barely eaten all day.”

“I don’t care.” Waverly said. “I wanna be alone.”

“Alright, we’ll… be over that way.” Wynonna grabbed Doc’s hand and pulled him down the hall towards the vending machine. “This is bad.”

“Do you think she will be able to fix this?” Doc asked.

Wynonna shrugged, “Maybe? I don’t know.”

“Leave it to Champ Hardy to ruin it all.”

“When I get my hands on him-”

“Nicole is a lovely girl.” Doc said. “She’ll open the door for her.”

“I hope so.” Wynonna sighed, her heart hurting for her sister. “God, I hope so.”


	9. IX

“Nicole, sweetie, can I come in?” Teresa Haught asked as she softly knocked on her daughter’s bedroom door. “I brought you some breakfast.”

“No thanks.” Nicole said, her voice hoarse from not speaking very much in the last couple of hours. She had been home for almost two days and had spent the better part of her time locked in her room away from her family.

Teresa nodded, “I’ll just leave it out here.”

“Sorry.”

Teresa smiled sadly; she hated that her little girl was hurting so much. “Don’t apologize, love, take all the time you need.”

Nicole listened as her mother’s footsteps faded away, a frown on her face. She hadn’t meant to be such a downer while she was at home but she couldn’t help it. Waverly had broken her heart and she was having a hard time dealing with it- she felt stupid for actually thinking that something good could’ve come out of their fake relationship.

Waverly couldn’t ever like someone like her- yeah, she was damn good at football but was else was there to offer? When it came down to it, Ward was right, they all were- her parents weren’t rich and she wasn’t going into a career that brought in a lot of money either; she couldn’t give her a proper family…

Nicole sighed heavily and grabbed her phone off the nightstand to check the time, only for her heart to skip a beat when she saw the many notifications littering her lock screen from Waverly; she had barely looked at her phone since she got to San Diego.

_27 missed calls from Wave <3_

_42 text messages from Wave <3_

Nicole was about to open the message thread but a knock on her door stopped her in her tracks. “Yeah?”

“Get up.” Mike Haught said, as he walked into Nicole’s room and flipped the lights on; he wasn’t going to let his daughter mope any longer. “Come on, we’re going for a run.”

“I don’t want to.” Nicole mumbled.

“I don’t care.” Mike said, as he pulled the covers off the bed. “Up, now.”

“Dad, please…”

“You’ve spent almost two days in here and I won’t allow it any longer.” Mike said. “You can still be sad but I won’t let you be sad alone. Get up, get dressed and meet me outside in ten minutes.”

“But-”

“You can tell me all about this girl and then we’ll see a movie, like old times.” Mike said, making his way back out into the hallway. “Ten minutes!”

Nicole groaned and rolled out of bed, knowing it was best to listen to her father, after all, he only wanted what was best for her. She grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from her dresser and headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change. Nine and a half minutes later she was on the front porch with a father who was too hyped up for how early it was.

“Cutting it close, kid.” Mike said. “Ready to go?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Mike shook his head and started down their driveway, “Not at all.”

Nicole fell into a jog next to him, “You’re the worst.”

Mike shrugged and turned onto the street, “Yeah, but you love me.”

They ran in a comfortable silence for a while, the sounds of cars and birds enough for them as they made their way through their neighborhood. Mike Haught was a big, burly man with bright red hair and looks that could kill but he was truly the sweetest person alive. When one of his children was hurting, or scared or stuck in a situation they couldn’t get out of, you bet your ass he was there to help them out- no questions asked.

“So.” Mike slowed to a walk and fell into step with his youngest daughter. “Wanna tell me about this girl? I’m sure you’ve already told your brother and sister but let’s be real, they don’t help for shit.”

“I was an idiot.” Nicole shrugged as she wiped the sweat from her face onto her shirt. “I fell for a girl who doesn’t love me back.”

“Waverly Earp?”

Nicole nodded, “That’s the one.”

“What happened?” Mike asked. “Because I know I’ve only met her a handful of times but I could’ve sworn there was something between you guys.”

“I think I loved her the second I laid eyes on her.” Nicole said. “I know that sounds so stupid-”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Nicole looked at her father, “It doesn’t?”

Mike shook his head, “I fell in love with your mother before she even said hello. My buddies thought I was a dumbass but I know that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Six months later we were married and a year after that Jake was born.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Love doesn’t have a time limit.” Mike said. “I know it’s scary but we can’t help how we feel, right?”

Nicole stopped and sat down in the grass across from an old park, talking to her dad always made her feel better. “I guess.”

“Tell me about her.” Mike sat beside her, “I’m all ears.”

“I saw her around campus last year but I was still with Shae and I didn’t think twice about it, you know? I thought she was pretty but that was it.” Nicole said, a small smile playing at her lips as she thought of the brunette. “Next thing I know she’s my roommate and we got close; she came out to me but I never thought she would go for me. I mean, she just got out of a relationship too.”

“What changed?” Mike asked. “How’d this fake relationship start?”

“Ward, her father, is a raging homophobe. She asked if I would go back home with her over the break and pretend to be her girlfriend because she thought if he saw her with a girl he would back off.”

“Did he?”

Nicole snorted out a laugh, “Fuck no.”

“He sounds like a lovely man.”

Nicole rolled her eyes at the thought of him, “Trust me, he isn’t.”

“So, back to Waverly.” Mike said, “How was it? Being at home with her.”

“At first it was awkward but then we kinda fell into place and I thought that things were changing. We were acting like a couple when people weren’t around and I don’t know, I guess I thought she was starting to feel things for me too.” Nicole pulled at some of the grass at her feet. “I was wrong.”

“Did you ever tell her how you feel?”

Nicole shook her head, “Nope.”

“Why not?” Mike asked.

“I’m a coward.” Nicole said. “I didn’t want to lose her. I was afraid that if I told her I would scare her away and she would want nothing to do with me.”

“That doesn’t seem like the Waverly I’ve heard about.”

“I was going to tell her, after the party, I think.” Nicole said. “I don’t know. I just… she was acting so strange and when I went to look for her I found her in the arms of her ex-boyfriend.”

Mike whistled low, “Damn.”

“If she would’ve just told me the truth, that she wanted to get back with him, I would’ve understood. I mean, it still would’ve hurt but at least I wouldn’t have been such a sucker.” Nicole said. “At least her father won’t give her shit now.”

Mike pulled her into a side hug, holding her tightly, “If she couldn’t see how great you are and went back to some asshole, she didn’t deserve you in the first place, Nic.”

Nicole dropped her head onto his shoulder, “I really wanted her to be the one.”

Mike pressed a kiss to her forehead, “I know, honey, I know.”

///

“Oh my God, an actual bed!” Wynonna said, unable to hide her excitement as she threw herself onto one of the full-size mattresses. They had spent the better part of a day and a half stuck in an airport and she couldn’t be happier that they were finally at their destination.

“I could for sure sleep for days.” Doc collapsed beside Wynonna, sighing in content. “Airports are not the ideal place to be trapped.”

“I’m glad you two are comfortable.” Waverly grumbled; her mood had dwindled so much since they left Purgatory because all she wanted to do was fix things with Nicole but it felt like everything was getting in the way.

“Maybe you should get some rest before you go and look for her.” Wynonna suggested.

Waverly her off, “No time, it’s already been too long.”

“How do you even plan to find her?” Wynonna asked. “Do you have any idea where she lives?”

“Dolls is here.” Waverly said. “I’ll call him.”

“What if Nicole has told him what’s happened and he ignores you?”

“Then I use my charm.” Waverly said, matter of fact.

Wynonna gave her a look. “I think you left that back home, baby girl.”

Waverly glared at her, “Can you be helpful for one minute?”

“I’m running on three hours of sleep, shitty airport coffee and a day without a shower.” Wynonna said. “I’m trying my best here!”

Waverly sighed and fell onto her bed with a huff, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be.” Wynonna said, “You’re stressed out and worried, I get it.”

“She won’t return my calls or answer my texts.”

“You can still fix it, whatever _it_ is.” Wynonna said. “She loves you.”

“Stupid Champ.”

“Go take a shower, take a minute to yourself to figure out what you’re going to say and then we’ll go and find her.” Wynonna said. “There’s a donut shop across the street, we’ll be there when you’re ready.”

Doc groaned, “But the bed…”

“Will be here when we get back.” Wynonna shook her head, “Come on, I’ll buy you a coffee and give you a-”

“Nope! Stop right there!” Waverly said, covering her ears. “Don’t finish that sentence!”

Wynonna cackled loudly and rolled out of bed, pulling Doc with her, “Take your time, Wave, we’re ready when you are.”

///

“_Nicole’s back in town_?” Dolls asked. “_She’s a little early, isn’t she?_”

“I… yes, she’s back.” Waverly said. “Can you give me her address, please?”

Dolls was silent for a moment, “_Why_?”

“What?” Waverly asked, confused by the question.

“_Why is she back_?” Dolls asked. “_She wasn’t supposed to be home for another two weeks, right_?”

Waverly sighed and started to explain everything to him- there was no point in hiding it; he would find out eventually seeing as he’s one of Nicole’s best friend. Dolls was quiet while she spoke, letting Waverly her ramble and sputter her way through her feelings about how she’s terrified of losing Nicole forever over some stupid misunderstanding thanks to her obnoxious ex-boyfriend who doesn’t seem to get that no means no.

_“Nicole is notorious for running for the hills when things get tough.”_ Dolls said. “_She feels deeply, even though she’ll never admit it; when she’s hurt, she’s irrational and falls into herself. Doesn’t surprise me that she got on a plane before she even spoke to you first.” _

“I was so stupid to think that this was ever a good idea!” Waverly said. “Daddy just gets under my skin and Nicole suggested it, and yeah it was a joke but it seemed like the perfect thing to do at the time! Now she hates me and I don’t know how to fix it!”

“_Talk to her_.” Dolls said simply. “_Nicole’s never had the best of luck with girls growing up, believe it or not. Shae was abusive and possessive and any other girl that she was remotely interested in ended up throwing her to the side the first chance they got. Nicole loves you, Waverly.”_

“How do you know?”

“_I’ve never seen her so happy before._” Dolls said. _“You came into her life and she was on a whole other level. She thinks she’s subtle but she’s far from it; do you have any idea how many nights I spent listening to her talk about you and how amazing you are?” _

Waverly gasped softly at the admission, “She talked about me?”

“_Still does_.” Dolls said, matter of fact. “_Do you have any idea how many texts I’ve gotten from her since she went home with you? Nicole is a damn good person who would do just about anything for anyone but I swear to God… she’d give you the whole world if you asked_.”

“What if she doesn’t want to talk to see me?”

“_She’ll talk to you_.” Dolls assured her. “_I know she will_.”

“I… thank you, Xavier.”

“_3945 Lannister Drive_.”

“What?”

“_Her address_.” Dolls clarified. “_Good luck, Waverly_.”

///

“Thank you for today, dad, I really needed it.”

Mike patted her leg, a smile on his face, “Feel any better?”

“A little, I guess.” Nicole shrugged. “Still sad but I’ll be okay.”

“I know you will be.” Mike said, “You’re the best of us.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“You’ll get through this, baby girl. I know it doesn’t seem like it but you’ll get through this; maybe not tomorrow, maybe not for a while but eventually. Just don’t forget that you’ve got people in your corner, when the nights are tough and you feel like everything is falling apart- your mother and me, Jake, hell even Alex, we’re all here for you.”

Nicole felt tears in her eyes and she cursed under her breath; it was the first time since everything happened that she wanted to cry. She had always been a proud person, refusing to let her emotions get the best of her; she would push her feelings deep down, out of mind, out of sight or drink herself into oblivion until she forgot all about the pain. But this time was different because Nicole didn’t want to forget- she didn’t want to forget the brown hair and the even darker eyes with a smile that always seemed to be there. No, she wanted to hurt, to feel the loss of a love she never had because even though Waverly Earp broke her heart into a million little pieces, she didn’t deserve to be forgotten.

“It’s okay to be upset.” Mike said, his voice soft, gentle. “You don’t always have to keep it inside, you know.”

Nicole laughed as she wiped at her eyes, “It’s Christmas, I shouldn’t be upset.”

“Stubborn as all hell is what you are.” Mike turned the ignition off and got out of the car. “Come on, your mother probably has dinner ready and you know how much she hates to wait.”

Nicole climbed out of the car and followed her father into the house, “Thank you for today.” Nicole said, thanking his once more.

Mike shrugged his heavy coat off and slipped it onto a hanger before putting it into the closet. “You’re the only one who will go see a good movie with me, I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity.”

“Oh, I get it now.” Nicole said, as they made their way into the kitchen where her mother and siblings were setting up dinner. “You only got me out of the house because _you_ wanted someone to hang out with.”

Mike greeted his wife with a kiss on the cheek and sat down at the head of the table, “Damn, you got me there.”

“Ass.” Nicole grumbled as she grabbed a water from the fridge.

Teresa swatted at Nicole’s shoulder with a spatula, “Language!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Nicole said, holding her hands up in apology.

“You had your free day of getting out of chores, come and help me with the damn chicken!” Jake said, unable to figure out if it was fully cooked or not.

“Jacob!” Teresa scolded, “Watch your mouth!”

“Dang, I meant dang.” Jake mumbled under his breath with a roll of his eyes. “No fair, dad lets us cuss all the time and I know you’ve said ass before…”

“Yeah, well not in my kitchen!”

///

“You just going to sit and stare all night or are you going to actually get out of this car and go talk to her?” Wynonna asked from the driver’s seat; she was still shocked that not only her sister but also boyfriend trusted her to drive in an unknown town. “I mean, it’s not like I want to be in our hotel room or anything…”

“I… I’m nervous.” Waverly said for what felt like the millionth time that day. Once Dolls had given her the address and she had grabbed Doc and Wynonna from the donut shop, they had gone and rented a vehicle- Waverly didn’t want to use any of the people that her father knew because she didn’t want them keeping tabs on her the entire time.

“Dude, I totally get it. Did you see the size of that man?”

Waverly glared at her sister, “Not helping, Nonna.”

“Sorry, but… like… he’s huge and Nicole’s so tall and lanky.”

“You should see her shirtless.”

Wynonna’s face scrunched up in disgust, “Ew, baby girl.”

Waverly slapped her shoulder, “I didn’t mean it like that! We’ve shared a room together for months and believe me, there’s so much muscle hidden on that wonderful body-”

“Nope, stop, gross.”

“Oh, I can hear about you guys all day but I can’t talk about my stuff?”

“You’re my little sister.” Wynonna said simply. “It’s different.”

“How?” Waverly asked. “I still don’t want to hear about your sex life!”

“Stop stalling and get your ass to that door.” Wynonna said. “Or I’m going to take us back to that hotel and you can try again tomorrow.”

“Wait, no, don’t leave!” Waverly took a deep, shaky breath. “I can do this.”

“You dated Champ Hardy, I’m pretty sure you can do anything.”

“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?” Waverly asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Nope.” Wynonna said. “Worst thing you’ve ever done in your entire life.”

“Okay, fair.” Waverly said, hand on the door. “I got this.”

“Damn right you do.” Wynonna said. “If she doesn’t let you in, send me a signal and I’ll burn her house down. I got matches so-”

“No setting fires to houses!” Waverly stepped out of the rental and wrapped her jacket tighter around her small frame. “I. Can. Do. This.”

“I’m right here.” Wynonna said, “Wave?”

Waverly dipped her head back into the car, “Yeah?”

“She’ll open the door for you.”

Waverly nodded, trying her best to stay positive; she shut the door and took off across the street to the house she had just watched Nicole walk into a few minutes ago. She made her way up the walkway and after having a quick argument with herself, swallowed the nerves and knocked on the door. This was it- no more running, no more hiding; it was now or never.


	10. X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t Come Down by The Maine is def. Wayhaught’s song for this fic. Take a listen, especially for this chapter.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Alex Haught asked, arms crossed tightly over her chest as she glared down at the brunette. “Haven’t you caused enough problems for the holiday season?”

“I… I need to talk to Nicole.” Waverly said. “Please.”

“You broke her heart.” Alex said. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”

“It wasn’t what she thinks it was!”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Alex scoffed, “I’ve met plenty of girls like you, Waverly Earp; you act all sweet and cute and then when you get someone right where you want them, you tear them to pieces.”

“That- that’s not true!” Waverly tried to argue. “I-”

“Alex, who’s at the-” Teresa paused, just a few feet behind her daughter, a look of surprise on her face at their unexpected guess. “Waverly.”

“H… Hi Mrs. Haught. I know it’s late and I’m sorry but I really need to talk to Nicole, it’s urgent.” Waverly said, unable to keep her voice from shaking; she was nervous and if they wouldn’t let her see Nicole, she had no idea what she was going to do.

Teresa looked at her for a while before she nodded, “Let me ask her.”

“Right, yes, thank you.”

“Wait just a minute.” Teresa said as she disappeared out of sight and back into the kitchen. “Nicole, sweetheart, you have a visitor.”

“Dolls?” Nicole asked, a look of confusion on her face. “How? I didn’t even let him know I was back yet.”

“No, it’s not Xavier, honey. It’s… It’s Waverly.”

Nicole dropped the fork in her hand, eyes wide, “What?”

“She’s outside, on the stoop, looking like a kicked puppy.” Alex said, as she sat back down in her chair. “If you want, I’ll gladly shut the door in her face.”

“Waverly’s here?” Nicole asked, clearly not registering that the brunette was here in San Diego. “No way.”

“I can tell her you aren’t ready to see her if you want.” Teresa suggested. “Or that you’re not feeling well?”

Nicole shook her head, her mind going a mile a minute, “She’s here. Outside?”

“Said it three times already.”

Mike slapped his middle child up side the head, “Shut up.”

“I… uh…” Nicole swallowed thickly and stood up. “Alright.”

“You okay?” Teresa asked softly.

“Fine, I’m fine.” Nicole ran a nervous hand through her hair. “Waverly’s outside right now. Waverly’s in San Diego; everything is totally fine.”

“I think she’s broken.” Jake snickered. “Such a lesbian.”

“I’ll be right back.” Nicole said and made her way out of the kitchen.

Mike got up and followed after her, “Nic, wait a sec.”

Nicole stopped and turned to look at her father, eyes unfocused and far off, “Yeah?”

“Just breathe, yeah?” Mike said, “If you need me, I’m right here.”

Nicole hugged her father tightly, “Thanks.”

“You got this.” Mike assured her. “You’re a Haught.”

Nicole nodded her head and started back in the direction of the front door; she stumbled a bit as she saw Waverly on her front porch, looking as beautiful as ever. She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath as she took the last several steps to get to her. “What are you doing here?”

“Nicole.” Waverly said, breathless. “I… can we talk?”

“I think it’s a little late for that, don’t you?” Nicole spat, surprised by her own anger. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“Five minutes, please.” Waverly begged, unshed tears in her eyes.

Nicole stared down at her and after what seemed like forever, she nodded. “Okay, five minutes.”

“Really?”

“Sure.” Nicole stepped aside to let Waverly in. “We can go to my room.”

“O- okay.”

Nicole led them upstairs and to her bedroom, shutting the door behind them when they were both inside. She leaned against her door, an expectant look on her face. “Why are you here?”

“I’m so sorry!” Waverly started to cry, tears falling freely down her face as she started to pace the small room. “Champ is an asshole and I don’t like him, I don’t think I ever really have. He’s a dick. He’s possessive and rude and a raging homophobe and I can’t stand him! Do you know that you’re the first person to ever see Champ for who he is with the exception of Wynonna? Everyone thinks he’s so great but he’s such a god damned jerk!”

Nicole stood silently, letting her ramble.

“I went to pee, well actually that’s not true at all.” Waverly glanced at Nicole momentarily before her eyes dropped back down to the floor. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been to fake this, to act like I don’t have feelings for you? Because I do… have feelings… for you.”

Nicole’s jaw dropped slightly at the admission.

“You’re so nice to me, and you’re funny and sweet. You stand up for me even when you don’t have and God, you’re so, _so _fucking attractive. Like, do you even know how good you actually look in suspenders?” Waverly shook her head, trying to get her thoughts back on track. “No one has ever treated me like you do; you make me feel like I’m the most important person in the world.”

“That’s because you are.” Nicole mumbled.

“What?” Waverly asked, coming to a stop in front of her.

Nicole cleared her throat and straightened up, “You are. Uh. The most important person in the world. To me.”

“What?” Waverly asked dumbly.

Nicole took a step towards her, “You scare me in all the best ways.”

“I do?”

Nicole nodded, matter of fact, “You’re not back with Champ?”

Waverly shook her head, a look of disgust on her face, “He trapped me on the way to the bathroom and wouldn’t let me go. Jackson taught me a trick when I was younger on how to get boys off of me if I didn’t want them so close. Is that why you left me?”

Nicole felt her heart break, “I thought… I thought it was real. Not a first, no, but like, after a while. I know it’s stupid but-”

“It’s not.” Waverly said, “Stupid, I mean.”

“I should’ve never agreed to go home with you.”

Waverly’s face fell, “Oh.”

“No, no!” Nicole cursed at her choice of words. “I… I should’ve never agreed to go home with you because I knew it was a terrible idea. I’ve seen the movies, I’ve read the books and I know how it ends for someone like me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I fell in love with you before you even asked my name.” Nicole admitted, a blush on her cheeks. “You walked into our room with a box way too big for your body, cursing in some language I didn’t understand and that was it for me; you smiled at me and I was a goner. When you have feelings for someone, you should never EVER agree to fake date them.”

“You love me?”  
  


Nicole shrugged, “I thought it was kind of obvious.”

“I thought you were just playing your part.”

Nicole laughed, “It was a very easy part to play.”

“I should’ve told you how I felt from the very beginning.”

“I’m sorry I left without talking to you.” Nicole said, a guilty look on her face.

“It’s okay.” Waverly said. “We’re here now though, right?”

“Where is here?” Nicole asked, her fingers twitching to touch Waverly, to _really_ touch her for the first time.

“San Diego.” Waverly deadpanned. “Do you not know where you live?”

Nicole glared at her, “You’re an asshole.”

“An asshole that loves you.” Waverly said, a shy smile on her lips.

Nicole’s breath caught, “Whoa.”

“What?”

“You flew all the way out here to tell me you love me.”

Waverly nodded, “I was afraid I was going to lose you.”

“I’ve been told a few times that I need to handle my problems instead of running away from them.” Nicole said as she reached up to cup Waverly’s jaw. “I feel like this is partially my fault.”

“Can we agree that we were both stupid and should’ve been up front since the very beginning because I really want to kiss you right now.”

Nicole gulped, “Kiss me? Yeah, sure, totally.”

Waverly couldn’t help but giggle as she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck, “For a lesbian, you really don’t know how to handle girls, do you?”

“Not pretty ones that have stolen my heart, no.”

Waverly’s heart skipped a beat, “Flirt.”

Nicole laughed as she pulled Waverly flush against her body, unable to stand the distance between them any longer. She looked into the brunette’s eyes, checking to make sure she was okay with it and when she was given a small nod, she dipped her head and pressed her lips to Waverly’s own. It wasn’t like in the movies, where there’s fireworks and an entire freaking marching band playing in the background while your teammates and closest friends cheer you on, no, it was better than words could describe.

Waverly pushed Nicole hard up against the door, a moan slipping from her lips as the football player dug her fingers into her hips. She knew there were going to be bruises there in the morning but she just didn’t have it in her heart to care. After months and months of pinning, she was finally in the arms of the person she loved and she couldn’t get enough of her. Nicole was soft and gentle but rough in the best ways, never letting Waverly take control for too long.

Nicole pulled away with a gasp, her head spinning due to the lack of air, “Holy fuck.” She said, eyes blown wide.

Waverly buried her head in Nicole’s chest, elated, “Holy fuck is right.”

Nicole ran her fingers up and down Waverly’s back, “Hey Wave?”

Waverly pulled back to get a better look at the redhead, “Yeah?”

“Does this mean I can call you my girlfriend now?”

Waverly nodded, maybe a little too eagerly but she didn’t care. “Yes, please.”

Nicole gave her a quick peck, “It’s official, our lives aren’t real and we’re in a movie; there’s nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise.”

“Why is that?” Waverly asked, happy to be in Nicole’s arms with no other reason than that they loved each other and wanted to be close.

“Christmas is in two days and you’re telling me I ended up with the girl of my dreams?” Nicole shook her head, “I’m thinking Hallmark.”

“This is real, baby, all real.”

“Baby?” Nicole’s heart fluttered in her chest.

“I… yeah?”

Nicole tightened her grip around Waverly’s waist, “I love it.”

Waverly pressed kisses along her jaw, smiling as she felt Nicole shiver from her touch, “I love you.”

///

Nicole and Waverly made their way downstairs, hand in hand as they headed into the kitchen, only to stop when they saw who was there. Wynonna and Doc were at the table, sharing a piece of pie and going through what looked like Nicole’s baby book- great, knowing Wynonna, she’d never be able to live it down.

“What are you doing in here?” Waverly asked her sister.

“Teresa here saw us outside and invited us in for some desert, which thank God for that, you’ve been upstairs for two hours!”

Jake was the first to notice their intertwined hands, “So, wanna tell us all about it or…”  
  


“We’re girlfriends!” Waverly squealed as she rocked on the balls of her feet.

“Fucking finally!” Wynonna said, “Took you long enough.”

Jake looked from Wynonna to his mother, waiting for her to comment on the eldest Earp cursing in her kitchen but nothing ever came. “Seriously? I can’t say damn but she can say fuck? What the fuck, mom?”

Teresa gave him a stern look, daring him to challenge her “I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it.”

Jacob sighed loudly and sunk down further into his seat.

“Come on, you two, have a seat.” Teresa motioned for them to sit down at the table. “The pie just came out of the oven.”

“Don’t tell Marty I said this but it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever had in my entire life.” Wynonna said. “I could stay here forever.”

“Speaking of staying here.” Mike cleared his throat. “How long do you three plan on being here? Christmas is in a few days and I’d like to know how many more stockings we need to get.”

“I uh-” Waverly looked to Nicole. “I was thinking of spending Christmas here with you, if that’s okay.”

“That sounds great.” Nicole said. “I’d really like for you to stay.”

“Great, then it’s settled.” Teresa set a giant piece of pie in front of them and handed them each a fork. “You guys will stay here until it’s time to go back to school. Doc, Wynonna, we have a guest room for you guys.”

“What about Waverly?” Nicole asked.

“I trust you girls.” Teresa said. “Seems like you’ve been through enough already to get where you are, I’m not going to separate you again.”

Nicole smiled up at her mom, “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Haught.”

“You date my daughter and spend Christmas with me, you call me Teresa.” Teresa told Waverly.

“Anybody up for a game of poker?” Alex asked, a deck of cards in her hands.

Wynonna perked up, a mischievous grin on her face, “I’m _so _in.”

“No betting money.” Mike said, “Just a fun, clean game.”

Wynonna and Alex groaned loudly, “Oh, come on!”

///

“Alex is exactly like Wynonna, oh my God.” Waverly said, as she helped Nicole roll down the bed later that night. “I feel like they’re going to get into some trouble together while we’re here.”

“Yeah, totally.” Nicole said, “Just wait until New Year’s Eve.”

Waverly pulled her hair up into a bun, “If I don’t have to bail Wynonna out of jail, I’ll be surprised.”

“Um… what side of the bed do you want?” Nicole asked as she realized that they were about to share a bed together, as a couple, for the very first time. It was stupid, really, to be nervous about something so small, considering they’ve shared a bed several times before but this felt different.

“I don’t care.” Waverly said, a light blush on her cheeks as she came to the same realization as her new girlfriend.

“I’m nervous and I don’t know why.” Nicole admitted, “We’ve slept in the same bed before and this isn’t any different.”

“I’m okay with the left side.” Waverly said, “If you are.”

“That’s fine by me.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

“We’re being stupid.” Waverly stated as she climbed into the bed; she patted the space next to her. “We cuddle all the time, right? The only different is I’m not afraid to admit that I want you to touch me in all the wrong places.”

Nicole’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, “Waverly!”  
  


Waverly laughed, “What?”

“You… you can’t say stuff like that!”  
  


“Why?” Waverly asked, a playful glint in her eye. “Don’t you want to touch me, Nicole?”

“You have no idea how much I want to, baby.” Nicole said, the nickname falling from her lips easily as she got into bed. “But I want to do this right.”

Waverly leaned over and kissed her cheek, “Ever the gentlewoman.”

Nicole shrugged, “I’m serious about you, Wave and I don’t want us to rush into anything; we have all the time in the world.”

Waverly hummed happily as she settled more comfortably into the blankets, “I think I like the sound of that.”

Nicole turned on her side, resting her head against her palm as she looked at Waverly, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I would’ve been here two days ago but we got trapped in a stupid airport in North Dakota due to a snow storm.” Waverly grumbled, not happy in the slightest at the memory. “It was horrible.”

“How pissed off was your dad?”

“He didn’t yell at me, so I think that’s progress?” Waverly shrugged. “I just don’t care anymore, you know? I have Wynonna, and you and that’s all I need in my life, right?”

“What about Doc?”

Waverly waved her off, “Henry’s alright I guess.”

“Henry’s his first name? Huh.”

“What? Did you think it was really Doc?” Waverly laughed. “That’s precious.”

Nicole rolled her eyes fondly as she reached out and tickled Waverly’s stomach, “I just never really thought about it.”

“His first name is actually John but he hates it.”

Nicole scrunched her eyebrows together in thought, “Wait, his full name is John Henry Holliday, as in, the famous gunslinger?”

“His parents are huge fans; you should’ve seen their faces when they realized he was dating an Earp.” Waverly said. “His father, Martin, changed his last name to Holliday on his eighteenth birthday, it’s kinda ridiculous.”

“So, Doc?”

“Parents called him that since he was a baby, apparently.” Waverly shrugged. “I’ve had people freak out before over my last name but that’s-”

“A little much?”

Waverly nodded, “Oh yeah, definitely.”

Nicole scooted closer to Waverly, a shy smile on her lips, “Would it… would it be okay if I held you?”

Waverly closed the distance between them; she wrapped her arm around Nicole’s waist and buried her face in her chest. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Nicole pulled Waverly as close as humanly possible, happy to have her in her arms without having to worry about crossing a line. Other times, when they would cuddle together after movie night, or in the late nights at the Homestead, away from prying eyes, Nicole would be somewhat hesitant, afraid that the rapid beating of her heart would give away the feelings she felt for the brunette. To be here, holding Waverly in her arms, knowing that she loved her back, was the greatest thing in the world.

“What’re you thinking about?” Waverly asked, voice muffled from the fabric of Nicole’s sleep shirt.

“You.” Nicole said simply. “Always you.”

“Yeah?” Waverly glanced up to look at Nicole.

Nicole nodded, “Every hour of every day; been like that for a while now.”

Waverly pressed a kiss to the underside of Nicole’s jaw. “Lucky me.”

Nicole bent down and kissed Waverly softly, already addicted to the taste of her; it was better than anything she could’ve ever imagined. “I love you.”

Waverly smiled at those three words, “Say it again?”

Nicole kissed her once more, “I love you.”

“One more time?”

“I.” Kiss. “Love.” Kiss. “You.”

“Whoa.” Waverly said, breathless. “Wow.”

“Forget your words?” Nicole teased.

Waverly nipped at Nicole’s pulse point, “Shut up.”

“Why don’t you make me?”

///

“So, how was your first night together?” Wynonna asked Waverly the following morning as they went into the city to get coffee. Nicole had a few errands to run with her mother before the stores closed and Doc ended up staying behind to help Mike fix something in the kitchen. “Is she really good in bed? I mean, with those muscles and that tongue…”

“Do you have a thing for my girlfriend?” Waverly asked, an eyebrow raised in question as she looked at her sister.

“Do I want to see if the carpet matches the drapes? No, no I do not but I’ve seen her tackle a dude twice her size to the ground and I’ve gotta admit, it made me all tingly inside.”

Waverly made her way into the café with a shake of her head, “Mhm, sure.”

“You didn’t answer me.” Wynonna said, always one to pry; she wouldn’t know what boundaries were if it slapped her in the face. “She was at least better than Champ, right?”

“We didn’t sleep together.” Waverly said, “She wants to take it slow.”

“… and you’re okay with that?”

Waverly told the barista their orders, paid for their drinks and followed Wynonna to a table in the corner, “I think it’s really sweet. Champ only cared about one thing and one thing only- if I said no, he’d whine and fuss until I finally gave in. Last night, all Nicole wanted to do was hold me; it was nice to just talk and not have to worry about anything else.”

“Ew, gross, feelings.”

“You told Doc you loved him before we left.”

Wynonna waved her off, “That’s different.”

Waverly couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her sister, “Yeah, okay.”

The barista dropped their drinks off at their table and Wynonna immediately down half of her coffee. “You seem really happy.”

“I am.” Waverly said, “I’ve never felt like this before.”

“If she hurts you, I’ll make sure no one ever finds her body.” Wynonna said and Waverly knew she wasn’t kidding. “Haught’s good though, I can feel it.”

“She’s the best.” Waverly said. “We weren’t even officially together and she still treated me better than anyone else ever has before.”

“You should’ve seen her at the party, she couldn’t keep her eyes off you.” Wynonna said. “Anna Kendrick could’ve been standing right in front of her, asking her to fuck her and I don’t think she would’ve even cared.”

Waverly couldn’t help but blush, “Really?”

“Uh, yeah.” Wynonna said. “Definitely.”

“I’m so used to people looking at me like I’m just an object, something to leer at that it’s a little hard to believe.”

“Nah, not with Haught.” Wynonna said. “She totally wants to bone you but if you made her wait until she was 80, she so would.”

“I’m not going to make her wait until she’s 80.” Waverly said. “I have needs, too, you know.”

Wynonna scrunched her face up in disgust, “Dude, no.”

“You’re the one talking about my girlfriend wanting to bone me!”

“I bet those arms would be really good at holding you up while you-”

Waverly practically jumped across the table to slap a hand over her sister’s mouth, “Shut up!”

Wynonna mumbled incoherently, her words muffled by Waverly’s hand.

“You’ll behave if I remove my hand?” Waverly asked.

Wynonna nodded.

Waverly moved her hand, eyes narrowed at her sister, “What were you trying to say?” She asked, daring Wynonna to say something sexual again.

“You’ve become a prude.”

Waverly scoffed, “I have not!”

“You had all night to screw your girlfriend and you chose to cuddle instead!”

“There’s more to a relationship than just sex, Nonna.”

“Yeah, but you’ve waited for months to get with her and you haven’t gotten naked with her yet. I’m just saying, sounds a little prudish to me.”

“I hate you.”

Wynonna cackled, “God, you’re so easy. I’m just busting your chops, Wave; I’m glad you’re dating someone who doesn’t want you for only your body.”

Waverly flipped her off, “I should’ve left you at home.”

“You would’ve never had the balls to come without me.”

“Wanna bet?”

“You couldn’t even tell your history teacher she gave you the wrong grade until I went with you as backup.”

Waverly gave her sister a look, “Touché.”

///

“So, we have Christmas tradition here.” Teresa said that night after dinner as they all sat around the living room. It was Christmas Eve and it was time for their annual Haught Family Movie Marathon. “Ever since Jake was born, we’ve done this and it’s only gotten better as the kids have gotten older. Waverly, Doc, Wynonna, we’re so excited to have you here with us but you’re missing something very important.”

“Matching pajamas!” Alex said with a fake cheer that her mother didn’t appreciate it; she actually loved their traditions but loved irritating Teresa even more. “We didn’t have time to put get your names on the back but they’re still pretty cool.”

Mike handed each of them a box, “Couldn’t leave you guys out.”

Waverly’s heart swelled in her chest at their kindness; her father would never do something like this. She opened the box and saw a plaid green and red flannel pajama set; she absolutely adored it. “Thank you.”

“Oh, it wasn’t a problem, dear.” Teresa said. “Nicole told me you get really cold at night so I got you the flannel ones, I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s perfect.” Waverly said.

Wynonna nodded in agreement, “Yeah, this is sick!”

“I’m glad you like it.” Teresa said. “Now, let’s all go get changed and meet back here in ten, okay? The cookies should be done by then.”

Nicole and Waverly made their way upstairs and into their temporary room to change and get ready for the night. They had spent a majority of the day apart or around Nicole’s family and hadn’t had much time to spend together alone. It wasn’t much, but even just a few minutes alone was more than enough, at least for the moment.

“I adore your family.” Waverly said, still in awe at how accepting and sweet they were to her and her sister and Doc.

Nicole grabbed her silk pajamas from off her dresser and started to change into them, “Yeah, they’re kind of the best.”

“Your mom bought all three of us matching pajamas.”

“She wasn’t about to leave you guys out.” Nicole said, as she ran her fingers through brown hair, a fond smile on her face. “Besides, it’s her way of saying you’re a part of the family now; looks like you’re stuck with me.”

Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist, “I think I’m more than okay with that.” She said, as she pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“Haught Sauce, hands off my baby sister!”

Nicole jumped at the loudness that was Wynonna; she glared at the older brunette, “Do you ever knock?”

Wynonna sat down on their bed and shook her head, “Nah, I like the surprise.”

Waverly rolled her eyes and excused herself to go change in the bathroom across the hall.

“Do I need to give you the talk?”

Nicole buttoned the last button of her night shirt, “I don’t think so, no.”

“You sure? Because now it’s all official and I will break your face if you hurt her.” Wynonna said. “I’m sick of shitheads not treating her right.”

“I love her.” Nicole said. “Believe it or don’t, I don’t have to prove it to anyone but her.”

Wynonna stared at her for a long while; she clasped her hands together, “I knew I liked you for a reason, Nicky.”

Nicole glared at her, “Don’t call me that, Earp.”

“If you wanna bang my sister, I get to call you whatever I want.”

“I don’t think that’s how that works.”

Wynonna waved her off and stood back up, “Just take care of her, yeah? I’m not always around and people are shit.”

“I’ve got her, always.” Nicole promised. “She’s safe with me.”

Wynonna patted her on the shoulder as she headed back into the hall, “Good.”

Waverly skipped into the room a few minutes later and Nicole’s couldn’t help the smile on her face as she took in the brunette. The pajamas were a bit too big on her but it only made her ten times cuter- it warmed Nicole’s heart to know that her family was already so accepting of her new love.

“What’re you smiling about?” Waverly asked as she fell into Nicole’s awaiting arms, a familiar smile on her own face. “Did Wynonna scare you away yet?”

Nicole bent down and kissed her softly, “Nah, baby, she’s harmless.”

“She shot at my first boyfriend for copping a feel without my permission.”

Nicole’s eyes widened and she swallowed thickly, “Well…”

Waverly laughed, “I’m kidding!”

Nicole sighed, relieved. “Oh, cool.”

“It was Marty!” Waverly said as she pulled Nicole out of their room and back down the stairs, cackling the entire way at the panicked look on the redhead’s face. “She almost got him too!”

“Awe, you all look so cute!” Teresa said from the kitchen as she got their snacks and drinks ready. “Mike, take a picture for me?”

“You and your damn pictures, woman.” Mike grumbled to himself as he grabbed his phone from his pocket; he nodded to Nicole and Waverly. “Get in front of the fireplace, makes it all festive and what not.”

Waverly laughed as Nicole scooped her up in her arms as Mike took picture after picture, ordering them into different poses one after the next. It was nice, to finally be accepted, too not have to worry about being anyone other than herself. If this was how it was going to be, with Nicole’s family and her sister by her side, Waverly wasn’t sure that she would ever want to go home again. In the 19 years she had been alive, she’d never felt so welcome, so comfortable than she felt right then.

“Alright everyone, let’s get this party started!” Alex said as she collapsed into her father’s lap, “Santa’s comin’ tonight and I’ve got presents to open!”

“Yeah, coal.” Jake deadpanned. “I’m pretty sure Santa’s still pissed about the time you told those little kids that he wasn’t real.”

“Hey, I saved them from a lifetime of being bullied and shoved into lockers, okay? Swear that one kid was definitely a grown man.” Alex grabbed the remote and turned the tv on. “I took one for the team and I’d gladly do it again.”

“She really is Wynonna.” Waverly said as Nicole pulled her into her lap.

“You act like that’s such a bad thing.” Wynonna said, “I think it’s awesome!”

///

The following morning, after breakfast, they all made their way into the living room to open their gifts. When Waverly and Wynonna had walked into the room with everyone else, they were surprised to see that they had plenty of stuff- Ward had sent apparently overnighted their presents to them; whether it was guilt or what, they would never know. 

After all the presents were opened and the trash was gathered up and thrown out, thanks to a reluctant Alex, they all went their separate ways to check out their new stuff and get ready for the day; Dolls was coming over for Christmas dinner and game night- an event that wasn’t taken lightly.

“I uh, I got you something.” Nicole told Waverly, as she shut the door behind them once they were in their room. She grabbed a small box from her dresser and held it out to Waverly. ‘I… well… I’m sorry if it’s too much. I was… um… maybe just open it?”

“Nic, you didn’t have to get me anything.” Waverly said. “You’re more than enough for me.”

Nicole gave her a sheepish grin, “I know, but when we went shopping I saw and I had to get it. It was… I was gonna… damn it, you make me so nervous.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?” Waverly asked.

“Damn good thing.” Nicole assured her as she handed Waverly the box. “If you don’t like it… you can return it… I’m not really good at gifts.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it.” Waverly started to peal the wrapping paper off and opened the box; she gasped at what was inside. Sat in the middle, on a small, plush pillow was a white-gold ring with tiny diamonds decorating the twist at its center; it was beautiful. “Nicole, I-”

“It’s not an engagement ring or whatever!” Nicole said quickly. “It’s a promise ring but it doesn’t have to mean anything, I swear! I just know you love rings and your favorite one is worn as fuck and I saw it and it was so you, you know? Shit, it’s too much, isn’t it?” 

Waverly looked up at her, tears in her eyes, “No, it’s not; I love it.”

“I mean, I was thinking about giving it to you a few days ago because we had been getting close and I started to think you had feelings for me too and it was gonna be a promise that like… I was in this… for the long run.” Nicole ran a hand down her face. “Oh man, I’m terrible at this.”

“Nicole.”

Nicole dropped her hand and looked down at Waverly, “Yeah?”

“I love it.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “It’s really sweet.”

“So, it’s not too much?”

Waverly shook her head and slipped the ring onto her middle finger, replacing her old one. “You were gonna give this to me as a promise that you were going to stay?”

“You know, to remind you that I’m always here.” Nicole said. “If you… you know… loved me back that is. Like, a reminder, of sorts.”

“We’ve not even been together 48 hours and you’ve treated me better than anyone else ever has before.” Waverly reached up and kissed Nicole. “Thank you; I just wish you wouldn’t have spent so much on it.”

Nicole waved her off, “You’re worth it.”

Waverly kissed her once more, “I got you something too.”

Nicole’s eyes widened slightly, “You did?”

Waverly nodded and pulled two big boxes out of her suitcase, “I got these months ago and I don’t know anything about football but I’m pretty sure I got the right stuff.”

Nicole sat on the edge of the bed and tore open the first box; she nearly dropped what was inside onto the ground in shock. “Oh. My. God.” She said, as she pulled the jersey from the safety of the tissue paper along with a note that explained what it was. “Waverly, you didn’t.”

“Oh no! It’s not right, is it? Chrissy and I spent hours looking for it and I was so sure it was the right one!” Waverly said, “Dang it!”

“Waverly, you did not buy me the ORIGINAL jersey of Johnny Stark, the first quarterback in the history of Ghost River University to win four consecutive championships. I idolized him as a kid growing up, he was a fucking hero to me; when he died a couple years ago, I was crushed.” Nicole held the jersey to her chest. “How did you even get this?”

“I have my ways.” Waverly said. “It was in a museum and they were about to get rid of it to put someone else in so I made my move. You have a poster of him on our wall and I’ve heard you fangirl over him so many times with Dolls before that I kinda put two and two together. I was going to get you a replica but this popped up on my search and I had to get it- it’s signed too.”

Nicole looked at her girlfriend, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, “You… you got this for me months ago?”

Waverly nodded, “Too much?”

Nicole shook her head, “I’m just really lucky to have you in my life.”

“Here, one more.” Waverly said, as she handed Nicole the last box.

Nicole tore it open and nearly squealed as she saw the helmet, “You got me his helmet too?” She asked, unable to comprehend that someone would do this for her. “Waverly, what-”

“I couldn’t just get the jersey.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “I’m an overachiever, remember?”

Nicole set the helmet down gently on top of the jersey and turned to face Waverly better; she pulled her hands into her lap. “Thank you.”

Waverly rested her forehead against Nicole’s, “I love you.”

Nicole smiled at her, “Do you realize how stupid we’ve been?”

Waverly raised an eyebrow in question, “What do you mean?”

Nicole laughed softly, “It’s just… we’ve spent months dancing around each other, acting like we’re only friends but it’s such bull shit. I feel like such an idiot for keeping my feelings from you, for us not spending all of that time together like we should’ve been.” 

“We’re were scared.” Waverly said. “I was terrified that it would ruin our friendship and I would rather have you as a friend than not have you at all.”

“You’re so beautiful and sweet and kind, I never thought you’d love me.” Nicole said. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to cuddle you?”

“You? What about me, huh? You would hold me so close sometimes and I felt like I couldn’t breathe!” Waverly said. “You give me gay panic!”

Nicole laughed loudly at that, “We’ve wasted so much time playing pretend when we could’ve been so much more.” 

“We’re here now though, right? Shouldn’t that be enough?”

Nicole nodded, “Baby, it’s more than enough; it’s everything.”

Waverly curled into Nicole’s chest, “Don’t ever let me go, okay?”

Nicole tightened her grip around her as she kissed her temple, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who gave kudos, comments, bookmarks, etc. I truly appreciate all the kind words you've sent my way. This is the last chapter and I hope I've done it justice. It's been one hell of a ride, much love.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me at katbarrellgivesmegaypanic.tumblr.com


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